The suspension may not be unconnected with the fire that occurred at the commission on Monday.
The High Commission announced the suspension of its operations via its X account, (formerly Twitter) late Monday night.
The suspension entails that pending the resumption of operations, there would be no provision of visa and immigration services for persons seeking to visit or emigrate to Canada.
Also, there would be no offer of services to Canadians visiting and living in Nigeria and to Canadians in Equatorial Guinea, as well as Sao Tome and Principe.
The announcement read, “The High Commission of Canada to #Nigeria, in #Abuja, has temporarily suspended operations until further notice.
“For consular assistance, contact our 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre.”
Furthermore, the government of Canada in its travel advisory via its website on November 6, 2023, warned its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Nigeria, including in Abuja, “due to the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings,” according to its advisory updated November 6, 2023.
The travel advisory came a few days after the United States issued warnings to its citizens in Nigeria on November 3, 2023.
Canada also warned its citizens to avoid Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Plateau, Kogi, Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Yobe and the Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Imo and Rivers (except Rivers’ capital city, Port Harcourt, where we advise against non-essential travel) due to the risk of terrorism, armed attacks, kidnapping, inter-communal and sectarian violence.
When contacted on the phone, an official of the Canadian High Commission, Demilade Kosemani, declined our reporter’s call neither did he respond to the message sent to his phone.
