The Canada High Commission has halted operations at its embassy in Nigeria until further notice and issued a warning against nonessential travel to the west African nation, joining the United States and the United Kingdom.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said an investigation has been launched following an explosion at the embassy on Monday that killed two people.
Fire officials said a tank inside a building generator exploded, killing two men who worked for the company managing the generator. Two others were injured in the blast and are being treated.
“We can confirm there was an explosion at our High Commission in Nigeria. The fire is out, and we are working to shed light on what caused this situation,” Joly said on X.
The Canada High Commission did not comment on the inferno; however, in a post on its verified X handle, the embassy noted that it “temporarily suspended operations until further notice.”
According to the Canada High Commission, the warning against non-essential travel to Nigeria, including the capital Abuja, is “due to the unpredictable security situation throughout the country and the significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks, and kidnappings.”
The travel advisory by the comes on the heels of the United States and the United Kingdom’s statement on Friday, which stated that there was an “elevated threat to major hotels in Nigeria’s larger cities” and warned against travelling to Africa’s most populous nation.
