US warns citizens against travel to 23 countries, flags Nigerian states as Level 4 risk

The United States Department of State has placed 23 countries under its highest Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, citing extreme security risks and limited capacity to provide consular assistance. Nigeria remains under a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory, but several Nigerian states have been designated under the stricter Level 4 category.

The warning was announced on Thursday through the department’s official TravelGov X account. The department stressed that the affected destinations pose extreme security risks or have limited capacity for the US government to provide help to Americans there.

“We issue Travel Advisories with Levels 1–4. Level 4 means DO NOT TRAVEL. We assign Level 4 based on local conditions and/or our limited ability to help Americans there,” the department said. It added a blunt warning: “These places are dangerous. Do not go for ANY reason.”

Full list of Level 4 countries

The 23 countries under the Level 4 advisory are: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Ukraine, and Yemen.

Africa accounts for nearly half of the countries on the list, with 11 nations affected.

Nigerian states under stricter Level 4 warning

Although Nigeria remains under a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory, the US has designated several states under the stricter Level 4: Do Not Travel category. In northern Nigeria, the affected states are Borno, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, and northern Adamawa. In the South-South and South-East, the advisory applies to Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states. Port Harcourt is specifically excluded from the Rivers State warning.

The State Department said Americans should reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, kidnapping, civil unrest, and inconsistent healthcare services.

Nigeria rejects US assessment

The Nigerian government has rejected the US travel advisory assessment, arguing that it reflects Washington’s internal risk evaluation procedures rather than a comprehensive judgment of Nigeria’s overall security situation. Officials maintain that security efforts are ongoing across the country, even as the US continues to caution its citizens against travel to specific high-risk regions, according to a BusinessDay report.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the US government has also advised its citizens against travelling to 11 African countries under the Level 4 advisory. Those countries are Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.

For Nigerian businesses and the naira, sustained US warnings could deter foreign direct investment and reduce business travel to affected states, potentially straining local economies that rely on international partnerships.