US announces visa ban on Nigerians

<p><strong>The United States has announced visa restrictions on some Nigerians accused of undermining democracy&comma; noting that this was part of the action to advance democracy and tackle corruption in Nigeria&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The US Secretary of State&comma; Antony Blinken&comma; who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday&comma; said that the sanctioned individuals&comma; whose name he did not reveal&comma; would be ineligible for US visas&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The top-ranking diplomat also explained that some family members of those barred from the US may also be subjected to the same restriction&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He stated&comma; ”We are committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world&period; Today&comma; I am announcing visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyQuote;’Under Section 212&lpar;a&rpar;&lpar;3&rpar;C&rpar; of the Immigration and Nationality Act&comma; these individuals will be found ineligible for visas to the United States under a policy to restrict visas of those believed to be responsible for&comma; or complicit in&comma; undermining democracy in Nigeria&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;abia-pdp-governorship-candidate-is-dead-cause-of-death-revealed&sol;">Abia PDP Governorship Candidate Is Dead&comma; Cause Of Death Revealed <&sol;a><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyQuote;’Certain family members of such persons may also be subject to these restrictions&period; Additional persons who undermine the democratic process in Nigeria—including in the lead-up to&comma; during&comma; and following Nigeria’s 2023 elections—may be found ineligible for U&period;S&period; visas under this policy&period;’’<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Blinken clarified that the visa restriction was not targeted at the Nigerian people or the government&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He described it as a reflection of the US government’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s aspiration to combat corruption and strengthen democracy and the rule of law&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyQuote;’The visa restrictions announced today are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the Government of Nigeria&period; The decision to impose visa restrictions reflects the commitment of the United States to support Nigerian aspirations to combat corruption and strengthen democracy and the rule of law&comma;’’ the statement said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;