Prince Charles scraps part of West Africa tour due to Nigeria violence

Violence in central Nigeria has forced the Prince of Wales to abandon his plans to visit the region this week.

Prince Charles and Camilla will arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday – the third country on their autumn tour of West Africa.

While the visit will continue in Abuja and Lagos, the planned trip by plane to Jos – in the centre of Nigeria – was suddenly cancelled.

Charles’ office said only that the trip has been changed “on the advice of the British Government”.

The region has been rocked by a spate of recent killings and clashes.

In recent weeks, members of the Nigerian military have been killed in the area.

The violence between Muslim and Christian workers in the region has been raging for years, but until Monday, Clarence House still planned to continue with the Prince’s visit there.

The British High Commission in Abuja said the Nigerian Government had taken additional security precautions and that had impacted on the royal tour arrangements.

Nigeria has suffered from a decade-long insurgency by the group Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people.

Boko Haram was responsible for the mass kidnap of the schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014.

However, it was thought that Jos would not be a security risk to the Prince of Wales.

Much of Prince Charles’ programme on Thursday has been rearranged in the capital, Abuja.

 

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