U.S. shuts Abuja Embassy, Consulate General in Lagos

The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced that its Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Friday, June 19, 2026, to observe Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The mission made the announcement in a post on its official X account on Thursday, stating that both offices will suspend operations for the public holiday.

According to the statement, regular consular and diplomatic services will resume after the holiday.

The temporary closure means routine visa appointments, passport services, and other non-emergency consular services will not be available on that day.

Juneteenth is observed every year on June 19 and marks the end of slavery in the United States. The day commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans that they were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Juneteenth became an official federal holiday in the United States in 2021 after legislation was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden.

Since then, U.S. government offices, including embassies and consulates around the world, have observed the day as a public holiday.