By Opeyemi Adelakun
The United States Mission in Nigeria has announced the temporary closure of its Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day.
In a notice issued on Thursday, the mission said both diplomatic offices would be closed on Friday, June 19, 2026, in line with the United States federal holiday.
The closure will affect routine diplomatic and consular services, including visa appointments, passport processing and other non-emergency services scheduled for the day.
According to the mission, normal operations will resume after the holiday.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. The date marks the arrival of Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, in 1865, where enslaved African Americans were informed of their freedom more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by former President Abraham Lincoln.
The observance became a federal holiday in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law.
Since then, US government institutions, including embassies and consulates worldwide, have observed the day as an official public holiday.
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