The United States and Nigeria have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening security cooperation, particularly in protecting Christian communities and combating terrorism, following the second session of the United States-Nigeria Joint Working Group (JWG) on Nigeria’s Particular Concern Designation.
The meeting, held in Washington, was hosted by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, and attended by a Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
According to a readout issued by the U.S. State Department on Friday, discussions focused on three major areas: protecting Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, strengthening judicial and security institutions to ensure perpetrators of violence are held accountable, and enhancing military-to-military cooperation.
Both countries reviewed progress on the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities, counterterrorism prosecutions and efforts to combat the financing of terrorism.
The discussions also highlighted continuing challenges, including civilian fatalities and concerns over transparency in humanitarian expenditure.
The U.S. acknowledged Nigeria’s reported efforts to prosecute hundreds of terrorism suspects, expand judicial capacity and recruit and train an additional 50,000 police officers.
Washington and Abuja further agreed to maintain coordination on countering terrorism financing and expand biometric information sharing to strengthen accountability measures.
The U.S. also said law enforcement capacity would be supported through the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Bureau of Counterterrorism.
In a private meeting with Ribadu, Hooker reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with Nigeria to protect Christian communities and deepen bilateral security cooperation.
The Nigerian delegation also visited the Pentagon on Thursday, where discussions with U.S. defence officials centred on military collaboration.
The first session of the Joint Working Group was held in Abuja on January 22.
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