Some unidentified Nigerians have been denied visas by the US embassy “for disrupting the democratic process in a recent Nigerian election,” according to the announcement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday that the move was evidence of his government’s “commitment to helping Nigeria’s goal to tackle corruption and improve democracy and the rule of law.”
The impacted persons would not be granted a visa to enter the US, according to the top US diplomat, “under a policy to restrict visas of anyone judged to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.”
He added that similar limitations might also apply to their family members.
However, Mr. Blinken made it clear that neither the Nigerian people nor the administration was the focus of the visa suspension.
It comes just two months after Rolf Olson, the political adviser at the US embassy in Nigeria, made a like claim.
The US government also issued visa restrictions for select people before the Edo and Ondo governorship elections on September 19 and October 10, 2020.
On February 25, the nation is scheduled to hold general elections.
