Relief spread across parts of Nigeria on Tuesday as groups of Nigerian pilgrims began returning home from Israel amid heightened regional tensions, while the U.S. Department of State issued a sweeping security advisory urging Americans to leave several Middle Eastern countries immediately.
Everyday.ng learnt of the arrivals early Tuesday morning when one of the pilgrims responded to a message that the Nigerian contigent just arrived Lagos. They were airlifted to Abuja within the hour.
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), has announced the immediate suspension of all pilgrimages to Israel following the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.
The decision was disclosed on Tuesday in Abuja by the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Stephen Adegbite, in a statement signed by Mr. Celestine Toruka, Deputy Director and Head of Media and Public Relations.
Adegbite said the move became necessary as the Commission places the safety and comfort of Nigerian pilgrims above all other considerations.
According to him, recent developments in the Middle East, including the declaration of a state of emergency in Israel, have compelled the Commission to put all pilgrimage activities on hold.
The suspension, he added, also affects pilgrimages being organised by private operators until the situation returns to normal.
“The NCPC is closely monitoring developments and appreciates the understanding and cooperation of stakeholders and the media,” he said.
Adegbite called on Christians to pray for peace in Jerusalem and across the Middle East.
He, however, noted that the Commission had successfully concluded the 2025 Main Pilgrimage exercise to Israel and Jordan, with the final batch of pilgrims arriving safely at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on March 3.
The U.S. warning follows escalating hostilities in the region, including Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and U.S.-aligned interests in the Persian Gulf. In what analysts describe as one of Washington’s broadest alerts in recent years, American citizens were advised to depart multiple countries across the Middle East over “serious safety risks.”
Countries listed in the advisory include Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iran, as well as the West Bank and Gaza.
The development has particular significance for Nigeria, home to one of the world’s largest Christian populations and a major source of religious pilgrims to Israel.
The Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), a federal body responsible for coordinating Christian pilgrimages, organizes thousands of Holy Land visits annually when security conditions permit. Private tour operators also facilitate regular church-led trips.
Many Nigerian pilgrims traditionally visit Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem and the Jordan River during peak seasons such as Easter and Christmas. Church leaders say bookings often fluctuate in response to security developments.
Families of some pilgrims expressed concern following news of renewed hostilities but welcomed reports that several groups had safely departed Israel in recent days.
Israel’s tourism sector has been under strain since the October 2023 outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Although leisure travel declined sharply, religious pilgrimage — often planned months in advance by churches and dioceses — has proven more resilient.
Before the current conflict, the Israel Ministry of Tourism reported hundreds of thousands of annual visitors from the United States alone, many of them evangelical Christian pilgrims.
The United States has historically been Israel’s single largest tourism market. American church groups frequently travel to biblical sites in Jerusalem and Galilee, forming a significant segment of Israel’s faith-based tourism economy.
In recent years, Israel has also seen increasing numbers of pilgrims from sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting expanding Pentecostal and evangelical church networks in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
Meanwhile, religious tourism dynamics shifted after the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The agreements facilitated direct commercial flights and increased travel, including Muslim visitors to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Jordan continues to play a key religious and political role in Jerusalem through its custodianship of Islamic holy sites under the Jordanian Waqf authority.
The U.S. advisory comes at a sensitive time for regional travel. Hundreds of thousands of Americans reside in the affected countries, and many more transit through major Gulf hubs such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which host key international airports and U.S. military facilities.
With major religious observances approaching in the coming months, travel planners in the United States and across Africa are reassessing itineraries amid fears of broader regional escalation.
For Israel, where faith-based tourism serves not only as an economic pillar but also as a diplomatic bridge to Christian and Muslim communities worldwide, the impact of the advisory could ripple far beyond American travelers — affecting church groups from Lagos to Nairobi and beyond.
