The Federal Government has warned Nigerian citizens travelling to the United Kingdom, to be cautious following the recent killing of three young girls at a concert on Saturday which has caused riots and protests in the country.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja on Monday, and signed by its Spokesperson, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, said the violence has assumed “dangerous proportions” as evidenced by reported attacks on law enforcement agents and damage to infrastructure.
Consequently, citizens are advised to be extra vigilant and take proper measures while in the country. He advised: avoiding political processions and protests, rallies or marches, avoiding crowded areas and large gatherings, and being vigilant and self-aware at all times.
Background
Demonstrations occurred on Saturday with several British cops injured during violent clashes that erupted after three young girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Northwest England Monday.
Merseyside Police had reported that several police officers were harmed amid “serious disorder” in Liverpool’s city center, about 20 miles from the site of Monday’s heinous stabbing spree in the seaside town of Southport.
Videos posted on X shows hundreds gathered outside a shopping plaza in Hull, where rioters looted a shoe store before setting fire to the stolen supplies dumped outside the storefront, with a second blaze raging just a few hundred feet away.
Rioters had also smashed the windows of the Royal Hotel, while scuffles had been reported in other cities including Belfast, Bristol, Manchester and Nottingham.
The unrest involving hundreds of protesters rocked the nation in recent days following Monday’s stabbing spree, where three little girls aged 9, 7 and 6 were killed and nine others were injured.
The waves of protests nationwide came in the wake of false rumors online that the serial stabber was a radical Muslim immigrant. The suspect, Axel Rudakubana, 17, was arrested in connection to the attack. He was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan parents. Police have since tried to quell the narrative that it was a terrorist attack.
