Nigerians seeking to travel abroad, particularly to Ethiopia, are facing increasing challenges due to stricter visa requirements and allegations of fraudulent practices by the Ethiopian embassy. This development has led to financial losses and frustrations among travelers, who have accused the Ethiopian embassy of deceptive practices.
Several Nigerian travelers have recently alleged that the Ethiopian embassy has been accepting payments for e-visas without issuing them or providing refunds. These travelers claim that they were not informed that the e-visa option for Nigerian passport holders had been discontinued, leading to confusion and financial loss.
One such traveler, who identified himself as “Adventures of Ijoba,” shared his ordeal, explaining how he spent $247 on Ethiopian e-visas, only to receive nothing in return. Despite multiple attempts to contact the embassy and its support team, his efforts to secure a refund have been in vain. Ijoba expressed his frustration, stating that after several months, he had neither received a visa nor a refund.
Similarly, renowned tech expert Victor Asemota took to social media to voice his dissatisfaction, describing the situation as fraudulent. Asemota recounted how he lost $82 while applying for an Ethiopian e-visa, which was never issued. He criticized the Ethiopian authorities for continuing to accept payments from Nigerian applicants without issuing visas, calling the practice a “419 scam.”
Other travelers echoed these sentiments on social media, sharing their own experiences of lost funds and unfulfilled visa applications. Some even suggested that Nigerian travelers might need to visit the Ethiopian embassy in Abuja physically to obtain a visa, as the e-visa option appears to be non-functional for Nigerians.
The Ethiopian embassy has been under scrutiny since late September 2022, when it imposed new visa restrictions on Nigerian travelers, scrapping its visa-on-arrival policy for Nigeria and 41 other countries. At the time, the embassy advised travelers to either obtain visas through the embassy in Abuja or apply for e-visas through the official portal. However, recent experiences suggest that the e-visa option may no longer be valid for Nigerians, despite the lack of official communication on the matter.
Checks by *Sunday PUNCH* on the Ethiopian embassy’s official website and social media channels revealed no notification indicating that Nigerians are ineligible for e-visas. The embassy’s visa application portal continues to process payments from Nigerian applicants without warning them of the current restrictions.
Attempts to contact the Ethiopian embassy for clarification have so far been unsuccessful, with no response to emails sent by affected travelers or journalists. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the situation requires further investigation from the Consular section.
The situation has left many Nigerian travelers in a state of limbo, as they await either the issuance of their visas or refunds for their payments. The lack of communication and transparency from the Ethiopian embassy has further fueled frustrations, with calls for the Nigerian government to intervene and protect its citizens from potential fraud.
