Senate orders crackdown on bandits flaunting crime cash on TikTok

ABUJA, Nigeria – The U.S. Embassy in Abuja has suspended visa appointments, citing heightened security concerns, just hours after coordinated terrorist attacks killed a Nigerian Army brigadier general and at least 14 soldiers in Borno State.

The visa suspension, announced April 9, 2026, affects applicants in the capital; operations continue normally at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos. Affected applicants were directed to await rescheduling instructions via email.

The move follows an April 8 State Department advisory that maintained Nigeria at Level 3: Reconsider Travel, authorized the departure of non-emergency embassy staff and family members from Abuja, and expanded the Level 4: Do Not Travel list to include Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, and Taraba states.

In Borno State, Brigadier General Oseni Braimah and at least 14 soldiers were killed when Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants launched an overnight assault on a military base in Benisheikh, Kaga Local Government Area. The attackers reportedly destroyed armored tanks and multiple operational vehicles.

The incident comes less than two weeks after Nigeria was ranked the fourth most affected country by terrorism in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, which recorded a 46 percent increase in terrorism-related deaths under President Bola Tinubu.

The Nigerian government characterized the U.S. advisory as a “routine precaution” not reflecting the country’s overall security situation. Officials have not yet commented on the Benisheikh attack or the visa suspension.