The United States Department of State has placed 23 countries under its highest travel advisory, urging American citizens to avoid travelling to the listed destinations due to severe security risks and limited access to consular assistance.
In an updated travel advisory released through its official TravelGov platform, the department said countries classified under Level 4: Do Not Travel pose significant dangers to travellers, warning that the US government’s ability to assist its citizens in those locations may also be severely restricted.
According to the advisory, Level 4 destinations should not be visited “for any reason” because of prevailing security conditions.
Among the countries placed on the highest alert are 11 African nations: Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The complete list of countries under the Level 4 advisory includes Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine and Yemen.
The latest update comes months after the US maintained Nigeria on Level 3: Reconsider Travel, while designating several states across the country as Level 4: Do Not Travel because of security concerns.
States listed under the highest advisory include Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and parts of Adamawa in the North, as well as Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states, excluding Port Harcourt.
The State Department cited crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest and inconsistent healthcare services as reasons for advising Americans to reconsider travel to Nigeria, while urging them to avoid the designated Level 4 states entirely.
Responding to the advisory, the Federal Government described the US travel notice as a routine precaution based on Washington’s internal assessment procedures.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the advisory did not reflect a collapse of security across the country, insisting that although Nigeria continues to contend with isolated security challenges, the nation remains stable.
