The Government of Canada has issued a new advisory urging citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Nigeria, including the capital city, Abuja, citing an increasingly unpredictable security environment marked by terrorism, crime, armed attacks, and kidnappings.

The Canadian government dropped one of its biggest travel‑risk updates in years, warning citizens to steer clear of 17 African countries because of spiraling insecurity, political turmoil and extremist violence.

Canadian officials point to a perfect storm of threats: expanding extremist networks in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, a wave of military coups, communal clashes, mass protests, cross‑border crime, and fragile governance that leaves many states barely holding together.

On the ‘Avoid All Travel’ hot spots destinations are: South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia and Sudan while the ‘Avoid Non‑Essential Travel’ list includes Madagascar, Ethiopia, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Mauritania, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The advisory, released yesterday, highlights that while the entire country faces elevated risks, certain regions are considered so dangerous that Canadians are urged to avoid all travel.

The only exceptions to the broader warning are the cities of Lagos and Calabar, where travellers are advised to exercise a high degree of caution rather than avoid travel altogether.

According to the travel advice, wide swaths of northern and central Nigeria are experiencing sustained instability driven by extremist violence, banditry, and inter-communal clashes.

The government specifically names the northwestern states of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara; the northcentral states of Plateau, Niger and Kogi; and much of the northeast, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Taraba and Yobe.

According to the travel advice, the Niger Delta region also remains volatile. Canada advises avoiding all travel to Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states, though it stops short of a blanket ban on Port Harcourt itself, recommending instead that travellers avoid non-essential trips there.

Canada’s updated advisory places Nigeria among the most high-risk destinations for Canadians worldwide. The government urges anyone currently in the country to remain vigilant, limit movement, and monitor local media for developing threats.