A few days ago, the United States, Canadian and Taiwanese governments
warned their nationals against non-essential travel to Nigeria, following
increased terrorist attacks in the North-East. On Thursday, Security was beefed up around foreign missions
in Abuja.
According to Focus Channel report on Thursday, Taiwan urged
its nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Nigeria, especially during the
coming week. The Taiwanese government cited fear of another terror attack on
Abuja, Nigeria’s capital for its security alert.
Who can blame them, Boko Haram has seriously dented the image of this country. I only hope the situation and image of this country can be turned around for good and soon too otherwise we can kiss foreign investors and investments good bye. Continue to read after the cut...
The travel warning issued by the Bureau of Consular Affairs
of the United States Department of State dated December 21, 2012 also warned of
increased kidnapping in the Niger Delta and armed attacks in parts of the
North.
The advisory reads “The Department of State warns U.S.
citizens of the risks of travel to Nigeria, particularly during the holiday
season, and continues to recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all but essential
travel to the following states because of the risk of kidnappings, robberies,
and other armed attacks – Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Plateau, Gombe, Yobe, Kaduna,
Bauchi, Borno, and Kano states.
“The Department also warns against travel to the Gulf of
Guinea because of the threat of piracy. Based on safety and security risk
assessments, the Embassy has placed further restrictions for travel by US
officials to all Northern Nigerian states (in addition to those listed above);
officials must receive advance clearance by the US Mission for travel as being
mission-essential.
“US citizens should be aware that, in light of the
continuing violence, extremists may expand their operations beyond Northern
Nigeria to the country’s middle and Southern states. This Travel Warning
replaces the Travel Warning for Nigeria dated June 21, 2012.”
Our correspondents noticed that additional security measures
had been provided around major hotels including Transcorp, Sheraton and NICON
Luxury Hotels. Plain-cloth police as well as private guards were seen
scrutinising vehicles and frisking visitors at the hotel.
Besides the security men at the US Embassy and the hotels,
armed policemen were patrolling the area.
An Armored Personnel Carrier was stationed meters away from
the Canadian High Commission located on Bobo Street.
Investigations by one of our correspondents revealed that security
agencies had changed tactics in dealing with the increasing threat of terrorist
attacks after earlier attacks on the nation’s capital.
Meanwhile, the Plateau and Edo governments have faulted the
listing of their respective states amongst states with heightened insecurity in
Nigeria.
Plateau State Commissioner for Information and
Communication, Mr. Abraham Yiljap, on Thursday said that the Travel Advisory
was inconsistent with the reality on the Plateau. He told one of our
correspondents that Plateau had witnessed more peace in recent times,
especially with the peace-building efforts of the Jonah Jang administration.
Yiljap said that the peaceful atmosphere that preceded the
Christmas celebrations was unprecedented in the state’s recent history.
He said, “However, the featuring of Plateau State in the
latest listing (Travel Advisory) is quite disturbing. This is because the
government of Plateau State has taken several steps to improve on the security
situation here, and these steps have been yielding very positive results.”
Also, the Edo State Government, on Thursday, assured
residents and intending visitors to the state of adequate security.
Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere in
a statement in Benin, expressed displeasure with the designation of the state
as unsafe for visitors during the holiday season.
“We find it laughable that Edo State is on the list, and
this might suggest that the US Department of State is not in tune with events
in Nigeria. While we are unclear on the parameters used by the Department of
State, we however make bold to state, and this can be confirmed from the
security agencies in the country, that Edo State is the safest in the
South-South region of Nigeria and one of the safest in the country.” (PUNCH)
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