The Nigerian government says it has reached fresh security cooperation agreements with the United States following a series of high-level engagements in Washington, D.C., aimed at addressing the country’s prolonged insecurity.
According to Nigerian Newssphere, the delegation—led by National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu—met last week with senior officials from the U.S. Congress, the White House Faith Office, the State Department, the National Security Council and the U.S. Department of War. The meetings focused heavily on allegations of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the discussions were productive and would help strengthen security ties between both nations. He noted that the dialogue opened “new avenues of cooperation” to better protect Nigerian citizens.
Onanuga explained that the delegation firmly rejected claims of genocide, stressing that violent attacks in Nigeria cut across ethnic and religious communities. He said the team warned that misrepresenting the crisis would only “divide Nigerians and distort realities on the ground.”
Following the engagements, the U.S. government reportedly expressed readiness to deepen security support for Nigeria. This includes enhanced intelligence sharing, faster processing of defence equipment requests and possible provision of excess military hardware—subject to availability—to boost counterterrorism and anti–insurgency operations.
The U.S. also signaled willingness to provide humanitarian aid to affected populations in the Middle Belt and technical assistance to strengthen early-warning and response mechanisms.
Onanuga added that both countries agreed to immediately activate a non-binding cooperation framework and create a Joint Working Group to coordinate the new areas of partnership.
He said Nigeria, in return, reaffirmed its commitment to improving civilian protection in all security operations.
