The United States (U.S.) Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital has closed its consular section for visa appointments as of April 9, 2026, citing security concerns.
The closure and cancellation of all visa appointments follows a directive for non-emergency staff to leave the country. However, while the Abuja visa services are paused, U.S. Consulate General in Lagos remains operational.
The closure of consular services comes hours after U.S. Department of State authorised non-emergency US government employees and their family members to leave the Embassy in Abuja, citing a deteriorating security situation across Nigeria.
In an updated travel advisory, the Department advised Americans to reconsider travel to the country due to crime, terrorism, kidnapping, and civil unrest.
The advisory classified the overall travel advisory for Nigeria as “Level 3: Reconsider Travel,” while some states are at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”
“On April 8, 2026, the Department of State authorized non-emergency U.S. government employees and U.S. government employee family members to leave U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation,” the advisory read.
“Reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, and inconsistent availability of health care services. Some areas have increased risk,” it added.
Level 4 states that U.S. citizens are urged to avoid include, in the North, Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, and northern Adamawa states, due to terrorism, crime, and kidnapping.
The advisory also listed Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara states, citing unrest, crime, and kidnapping.
