U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Consulate General in Lagos Shut for Juneteenth Holiday

The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced the temporary closure of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos on Friday, June 19, 2026, to mark Juneteenth National Independence Day.

The mission announced the closure in a statement shared on its official X account, noting that both offices would suspend operations for the public holiday.

Routine services, including visa appointments, passport services, and other non-emergency consular activities, were unavailable during the closure.

The U.S. Mission said normal diplomatic and consular services would resume after the holiday.

Juneteenth is observed annually on June 19 and commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The day marks June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed enslaved African Americans that they had been freed.

The holiday became an official federal holiday in the United States in 2021 after it was signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

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

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