THE Ghanaian government has denied issuing an advisory to warn its citizens against non-essential travel to Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Ghana also apologised over the purported travel advisory.
The travel advisory which circulated on Wednesday, November 16, purportedly issued by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFA), advised Ghanaians to “avoid non-essential travel to Abuja over security” threats.
However, in a swift reaction on Thursday, November 17, Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in a letter published on its official Twitter page, said it was unaware of any security threat in Abuja.
The Ministry also disowned the travel advisory.
TRAVEL ADVISORY
RE: SECURITY UPDATE IN ABUJA, NIGERIA#GhanaMFA pic.twitter.com/bPNaanUfJP— Ghana MFA (@GhanaMFA) November 17, 2022
In a statement titled: ‘Travel Advisory. Re: Security Update In Abuja’, the Ministry apologised and said the travel advisory issued on Wednesday was not authorised.
The statement read, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration wishes to refer to the travel advisory published this evening, Wednesday 16th November 2022, advising against non-essential travel to Abuja and wishes to state that the statement was unauthorised.
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“The Ministry is not aware of any threat targeted at Ghanaians who continue to live in harmony with their Nigerian brothers and sisters.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration regrets any inconvenience this may have caused to the travelling public.”
The ICIR had reported that the United States had on October 23 issued a travel advisory to its citizens, warning against non-essential travel to Nigeria, particularly the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, over threats of terrorist attacks.
The United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia, Germany, Turkey and Ireland also issued similar advisories to their citizens, warning against non-essential travel to Nigeria.
The warnings brought about apprehension and increased tension among the residents of Abuja and neighbouring cities.
The US subsequently directed its non-emergency staff to immediately leave Nigeria.
The directive came barely three days after its authorities warned that there was an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, especially in Abuja.
Nigerian authorities, through the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor, however, condemned the alert and insisted that there was no cause for alarm and that they were working to avert any security threat.
A reporter with the ICIR
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