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The United States government has begun enforcing visa restrictions on individuals accused of violating religious freedom in Nigeria.
Mark Walker, US Principal Adviser for Global Religious Freedom, disclosed this in a post on X on Friday, saying the policy has already been implemented, although he did not name the affected individuals or entities.
He said, “We have already executed on this policy, and we will continue to subject perpetrators to additional scrutiny.
“If you engage in persecution, you are not welcome in America. The United States is safer when we keep those responsible for religious persecution from entering our homeland,” Walker said.
The visa restriction policy was announced in December by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, targeting those who knowingly direct, authorise, fund, support, or carry out violations of religious freedom.
According to the secretary of state, the move was part of the US’ decisive action in response to the “atrocities and violence against Christians” in Nigeria and around the world.
Read Also: Insecurity: US Embassy In Abuja Cancels Visa Appointments
The announcement came a month after Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa subcommittee, introduced a resolution recommending visa bans and asset freezes on individuals and entities responsible for severe violations of religious freedom in Nigeria.
Smith’s resolution named the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as erring entities.
In February, US lawmakers also proposed sanctions against Rabiu Kwankwaso, labelling him as complicit in violations of religious freedom.
The United States Embassy in Abuja has announced the cancellation of all visa appointments, directing applicants to check their emails for details regarding rescheduled dates.
The notice was shared on the U.S. mission in Nigeria official X handle on Thursday.
The statement reads: “U.S. Embassy Abuja is closed for visa appointments. Applicants should check their email for details on rescheduled appointments.
“Visa operations at U.S. Consulate General Lagos continue. American citizen services are available in emergencies and by appointment.”
Read Also: US Embassy Warns Of Terror Threat to Nigeria Facilities
The advisory comes hours after the U.S. Department of State authorized non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families to leave the Abuja Embassy, citing a deteriorating security situation across Nigeria.
In an updated travel advisory which caused a stir online, the Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, kidnapping, and civil unrest.
The overall travel advisory for Nigeria has been classified as “Level 3: Reconsider Travel,” while certain states are at “Level 4: Do Not Travel.”
The advisory specifically warned that U.S. citizens should avoid Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, and northern Adamawa States in the North due to terrorism, crime, and kidnapping.
Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara States were also highlighted for unrest, crime, and kidnapping risks.
Responding to the advisory, the Federal Government of Nigeria described the U.S. travel notice as “unbalanced” and urged international partners to provide more accurate and up-to-date assessments of the country’s security situation.
The United States Embassy in Abuja issued a formal security alert on Monday warning American citizens in Nigeria of a possible terrorist threat against US diplomatic facilities and American-affiliated schools, the first such targeted notice issued in Nigeria since the US-Israel war against Iran began eleven days ago and one that came days after the embassy cancelled all visa appointments citing fears of protests in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The U.S. Embassy in Abuja informs U.S. citizens of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. facilities and U.S.-affiliated schools in Nigeria. The Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens take additional precautions when traveling to the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, and U.S.-affiliated schools, to include varying times and routes,” the advisory stated. The embassy did not disclose the source, nature, or specific timing of the potential threat. Despite the alert, the consular sections of both the embassy in Abuja and the consulate in Lagos will remain open for services.
The advisory urged American nationals to adopt a specific set of personal security measures. Citizens were asked to be aware of their surroundings at all times, keep a low profile, review personal security plans, vary regular routes and travel times, keep mobile phones charged for emergencies, stay alert in public places, avoid crowds and demonstrations, and familiarize themselves with emergency exits when entering any building. The guidance was consistent with standard US State Department counter-terrorism protocols deployed in high-threat environments globally, but its specific application to Nigeria — a country where the embassy had not issued a targeted facility threat in recent months — underscored the severity of the assessment behind it.
Earlier, the United States Embassy in Abuja had cancelled all visa appointments scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, citing security concerns over possible protests in the Federal Capital Territory. In a public notice issued the previous Tuesday, the embassy said the decision was taken “due to the potential for protests in Abuja.”
That cancellation was itself a signal of elevated concern, coming as protests against the US-Israel war were being organized across Nigerian cities. The March 9 security alert represented an escalation of that posture from precautionary appointment management to a formal threat notification — a distinction that security analysts said reflected a change in the quality of intelligence the embassy had received.
The domestic context in Nigeria directly informed the threat assessment. The warning follows protests in Lagos and some northern states by members of the South-West leadership of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, who publicly denounced the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes.
The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, has longstanding ideological and financial ties to the Iranian Islamic Republic and has been designated a terrorist organization by the Nigerian government since 2019 following years of violent clashes with security forces that killed hundreds of its members. El-Zakzaky himself spent years in government detention before being released in 2021. The movement’s leadership condemned Khamenei’s killing in terms that security officials described as threatening and consistent with the radicalization of fringe elements who might act independently of the movement’s formal structure.
