The Department of State recommends avoiding several areas of Nigeria because of the risks of kidnapping, robbery and armed attacks. Violent crimes are committed by individuals and gangs as well as by people wearing police and military uniforms.
In October, two car bombs killed 10 people in the capital, Abuja. In December, explosive devices were detonated in Abuja and in Jos, Plateau state.
An extremist group took credit for church attacks that killed dozens in Niger, Plateau and Yobe states on Dec. 25. An explosive device was thrown into an Arabic-Koranic school in Sapele, Delta state, on Dec. 28, injuring seven people.
On Dec. 31, the government of Nigeria declared a state of emergency, giving it powers to search and arrest without warrants.
On Jan. 5, gunmen attacked church gatherings in Gombe, Gombe state, and Mubi, Adamawa state, reportedly killing 28 people. On Jan. 6, gunmen reportedly killed 12 worshipers in Jineta-Yoli, Adamawa.
A national strike was held on Jan. 9 in protest of the government’s elimination of a gasoline subsidy. Large protests took place, and some clashes resulted in deaths.
In the city of Kano in the north, multiple shooting and bomb attacks were coordinated by the militant group Bako Haram in January. On Jan. 20, gunmen opened fire in eight locations and detonated several suicide bombs. Three police stations, the passport office and the secret service headquarters were among the buildings targeted. More than 200 people were killed and many more were injured.
The next week a bomb exploded in a busy bus park in Kano. Later that day, police found 10 cars rigged with bombs plus hundreds of improvised explosive devices made from soft drink cans left around the city.
Human Rights Watch says that more than 900 people have been killed by Bako Haram since it began an uprising in 2009.