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The State Department said it has permitted the departure of some of its embassy staff in Nigeria in view of the “deteriorating security situation” in the African country.
The development comes weeks after the US military reportedly sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria amid fears of a renewed insurgency by terrorist group Boko Haram. A day before the authorization was issued, gunmen attacked two villages about 155 miles from Abuja, where the U.S. Embassy is located, killing 20 people, residents told The Associated Press.
“On April 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of State authorized the voluntary departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members from the U.S. Embassy Abuja due to the deteriorating security situation,” the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said. “The US Embassy in Abuja will remain open but will have limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in Nigeria.”
It added, “The U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will continue to provide routine and emergency services to U.S. citizens in Nigeria.” “The Department of State travel advisory for Nigeria remains at Level 3, advising travelers to reconsider travel to Nigeria due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed gangs and inconsistent availability of health care services.”
Gunmen riding bikes attacked a village in Nigeria on Palm Sunday, killing at least 20 people.
Nigerian soldiers prepare to patrol in Maiduguri, March 18, 2026, after a deadly triple suicide bombing killed 23 people on March 16. (Audu Marte/AFP/Getty Images)
The embassy also said, “US citizens in Abuja should consider departing if you do not need to stay for emergency or essential purposes.”
The latest attacks took place early Tuesday morning in Bagana and Arena in the Shiroro area of Niger state.
“They came on motorcycles and started shooting. It was a surprise attack, because it happened in the early hours of the morning,” Jibrin Isa, who lives in Arena, told the AP.
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Police officers gather at the site of a Sunday night attack by gunmen in the Gari or Weye community of Nigeria, Monday, March 30, 2026. (Samson Omale/AP)
Residents said at least 20 people were killed and several were missing. However, local police said only three people were killed.
The State Department said in a travel advisory issued Wednesday that “there is a risk of terrorist violence, including terrorist attacks and other activities, in Nigeria,” adding, “Terrorists collaborate with local gangs to expand their reach” and “they can strike with little or no warning.”
The MQ-9 drones were reportedly deployed to Nigeria in late March, following the arrival of 200 US troops in February to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is grappling with a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.
A spokesperson for AFRICOM, the U.S. Africa Command, told the AP that U.S. troops “are working with their Nigerian counterparts to provide intelligence assistance, advisory assistance and targeted training in support of the Nigerian armed forces.”
The most prominent Islamic terrorist groups operating in Nigeria are Boko Haram and its splinter group, an Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP.
A US military MQ-9 Reaper drone coming in to land at Rafael Hernandez Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico on December 29, 2025. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP)
As well as the ISIS-linked Lakurawa, there are other “bandit” groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.
President Donald Trump, speaking out against violence targeting Christians in Nigeria, told Fox News Radio last year, “I’m really angry about it” and “what’s happening in Nigeria is outrageous.”
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Secretary of War pete hegseth He also met with Nigerian National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu last November, in which Trump threatened to cut off aid to Nigeria if the country “continues to allow the killing of Christians.” Nigerian authorities have rejected the allegation.
Anders Hagstrom of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
