US embassy in Abuja joins Americans to mark Martin Luther King Jr Day, orders closure Monday

The U.S. Embassy in Abuja, the Nigeria’s capital has announced the embassy will be closed on January 19 as Americans mark Martin Luther King Jr Day.

King remained the most widely known African American leader of his era, until his assassination on April 4, 1968.

In a statement on Sunday, the embassy said the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos would be closed on January 19.

“The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Monday, January 19, 2026, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” the statement said.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday, in commemoration of the heroic deeds of the late leader of the American Civil Rights Movement assassinated in the struggle for Blacks civil liberty in America.

Mr King Jr was famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in Washington in the struggle for civil rights for Black Americans

Born on January 15, 1929, Mr King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.