The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government on Monday said the United States government has expressed readiness to deepen security cooperation with Nigeria. According to the presidency, this includes enhanced intelligence support, defence equipment, and other military resources to strengthen ongoing operations against terrorists and violent extremist groups.
The commitment follows a series of high-level engagements in Washington, D.C., last week between a Nigerian delegation and senior U.S. officials, aimed at strengthening bilateral security ties and expanding areas of collaboration. In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Nigerian delegation—led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu—held meetings with officials from the U.S. Congress, the White House Faith Office, the State Department, the National Security Council, and the Department of War.
Members of the delegation included Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Undiandeye; Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and two representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Onanuga said the meetings provided an opportunity for Nigeria to address what it described as “misconceptions” surrounding the country’s security challenges. The delegation refuted allegations of genocide, stressing that violent attacks affect families and communities across religious and ethnic lines. He noted that the Nigerian representatives “rejected the wrongful framing of the situation,” warning that such portrayals “would only divide Nigerians and distort the realities on the ground.”
According to the statement, the discussions “forged a constructive, solution-driven partnership with the United States, reinforced mutual trust, and advanced a coordinated approach to protecting vulnerable communities, especially in the Middle Belt.” Onanuga added that the U.S. government “expressed its willingness to extend complementary support, including humanitarian assistance to affected populations in the Middle Belt and technical support to strengthen early-warning mechanisms.”
Both countries, he said, agreed to immediately begin implementing a non-binding cooperation framework and to establish a Joint Working Group to coordinate the agreed areas of collaboration. Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening civilian protection measures. “The Federal Government restates its awareness of heightened sensitivities regarding religious freedom and security, and urges citizens to remain assured that firm, urgent, and coordinated steps are being taken to secure the nation,” Onanuga said.
The announcement comes weeks after former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to deploy American forces to Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if the government failed to stop what he described as the killing of Christians by terrorists. Trump also listed Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern,” calling the situation a “mass slaughter.”
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump said on Truth Social. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet,” he added. President Tinubu has since rejected claims of genocide against Christians in Nigeria, insisting that the nation remains committed to religious freedom and tolerance.
Source: https://saharareporters.com/
