LAGOS, April 9 (Reuters) - The United States has urged its citizens to reconsider travel to Nigeria and authorised the departure of non‑emergency U.S. government employees and their families from the embassy in Abuja, citing worsening security conditions across Africa’s most populous nation.
* U.S. travel advisories often shape how investors,international organisations and airlines assess country risk.The move to allow staff departures signals heightened concern inWashington as kidnappings, banditry and attacks on securityforces persist, particularly in northern Nigeria. * In an updated advisory late on Wednesday, the StateDepartment kept Nigeria at Level 3: Reconsider Travel, but addedPlateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger and Taraba to states Americanswere warned not to visit. That brings to 23 out of 36 the numberof states under the “Do Not Travel” category. * The U.S. highlighted threats from Islamist insurgents inthe northeast, criminal gangs in the northwest and ongoingviolence in parts of southern and southeastern Nigeria,including oil‑producing regions. * Last month, Washington warned of a “terrorist threat”against U.S. facilities and affiliated schools in Nigeria. * The U.S. reviews the advisory several times a year and haskept Nigeria at Level 3 or Level 4 for much of the past decadedue to persistent insecurity. * The U.S. military has multiple MQ-9 drones operating inNigeria alongside 200 troops to provide training andintelligence support to the military, which is fighting Islamistmilitants across the north.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Alex Richardson)
