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 spiralling 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.