The United Kingdom (UK) has placed 11 Nigerian states and selected riverine areas under its strongest travel warning and advised British nationals against all travel to locations including Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Katsina, and Zamfara over security concerns.
The advisory, issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Thursday, also covers river and swamp locations accessible by boat in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River states. The warning forms part of the FCDO’s latest review of travel conditions in Nigeria.
The British government separately classified 19 other states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as areas where travellers should undertake only essential journeys.
Under that category are Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Niger, Kogi, Plateau, Taraba, Kwara, Benue, Abia, Anambra, and Imo states. The classification also applies to non-riverine parts of Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers, as well as Abuja.
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The FCDO explained that the distinction between the two categories reflects different assessments of the risks associated with travelling to various parts of the country.
For the riverine areas listed under the strictest warning, the agency defined them as “the river and swamp locations accessible by boat, but not by road”.
The advisory warned that travel within Nigeria could carry significant risks and cautioned that “No travel can be guaranteed safe”.
It also advised prospective travellers to research their destinations carefully and obtain appropriate travel insurance before embarking on their journeys.
The FCDO further cautioned that insurance policies could be invalidated if travellers entered areas against which the British government had issued specific warnings.
It advised travellers to ensure that their insurance covered their entire itinerary, planned activities, and potential emergency expenses.
Beyond security, the updated guidance provides information on entry requirements, health concerns, fertility treatment scams, overseas adoption, and the assistance available to British nationals in Nigeria.
The advisory then places the affected locations into two principal categories: areas where the UK advises against all travel and those where it recommends travel only when essential.
The first category includes the entire states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Katsina and Zamfara, alongside the specified riverine locations in Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River.
The second category encompasses several states across northern, central, south-eastern, and south-southern Nigeria, including Kwara and Benue, while Abuja is also covered by the caution.
The FCDO advised people planning to travel to Nigeria to consult its travel guidance before departure and to take account of the security conditions in their intended destinations.
The classification does not amount to a blanket warning against travel to Nigeria. Rather, it identifies specific locations where the British government considers the risks sufficiently serious to warrant either avoiding travel altogether or limiting journeys to essential purposes.
