Katsina State, the home state of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari is among the northern states in Nigeria the United Kingdom has warned its citizens to extensively avoid, describing it as highly unsafe
Other states include Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Zamfara, Gombe and Kaduna state where suspected terrorists bombed an Abuja- Kaduna moving passenger train on Monday.
The terror attack left in its wake over 20 persons dead, several wounded and many kidnapped by the criminals who planted explosives on the rail track and later shot at stranded passengers.
Few days before the train bombing, suspected bandits had also attacked an international airport in Kaduna.
President Muhammadu Buhari has since ordered security agencies to hunt down the terrorists.
In spite of this, the UK government said in a travel advisory on Thursday that the designated states are not safe because of the rising level of insecurity.
The directory issued by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office FCDO, warned that the states any high risk areas where criminal group are still kidnapping people and killing others.
Part of the directory reads in parts: “The FCDO advise against all travel to Borno State, Yobe State, Adamawa State, Gombe State, Kaduna State, Katsina State, and Zamfara State. Violent attacks are frequent and there is a high threat of kidnap,” the post read.
“On 26 March 2022, gunmen launched an attack against Kaduna airport, killing at least one airport official in the latest in a series of attacks by gunmen in the north of Nigeria. On the evening of 29 March 2022, an apparent Improvised Explosive Device attack took place against a train travelling from Abuja to Kaduna. Reports suggest that a number of people were killed and that others were abducted by gunmen. Train services are now suspended between Abuja and Kaduna.”
“The threat level in North-East Nigeria, including around Maiduguri is increasing, particularly around transport hubs, religious areas, and large gatherings. Kidnaps have taken place on the roads in and out of Maiduguri. As the dry season starts in October, this risk is expected to increase even further,” the advisory further said.
“If the security situation in Maiduguri were to deteriorate any further, there is a significant likelihood that it could be extremely difficult for you to leave the city. We do not advise travelling by road.”
“If you’re in the North East against FCDO advice, keep in touch with the authorities and the wider community on the security situation and make sure your procedures and contingency plans are up to date. If you are working in the North East of Nigeria you should be fully confident in your employer’s ability to extract you from the North East in the event of any emergency,” FCDO said