The Federal Government has reinforced its security partnership with the United States Department of War in a renewed effort to tackle insurgency across Nigeria.
According to a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, a delegation led by National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu held strategic engagements last week with senior officials from the US Congress, the White House Faith Office, the State Department, the National Security Council, and the Department of War.
The talks focused on Nigeria’s escalating security challenges and explored new avenues to deepen cooperation between both nations.
During the meetings, the Nigerian delegation strongly dismissed allegations of genocide, stressing that violent attacks affect communities of all backgrounds, regardless of religion or ethnicity. They maintained that misrepresenting the crisis would only sow division and distort the actual situation.
Following the engagements, the US Government expressed readiness to expand its security cooperation with Nigeria. This includes increased intelligence-sharing, faster processing of defence equipment requests, and the possible supply of excess defence assets to support ongoing counterterrorism operations. The US also signalled willingness to offer humanitarian aid to affected populations in the Middle Belt and technical support for early-warning and conflict-prevention systems.
Both sides agreed to immediately operationalise a non-binding cooperation framework and establish a Joint Working Group to coordinate the new areas of collaboration.
The Nigerian Government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting civilians and addressing misconceptions about the country, while emphasizing that coordinated measures are being taken to enhance national security.
Members of the Nigerian delegation included Attorney-General Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Parker Undiandeye; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Ambassador Ibrahim Babani of the Office of the National Security Adviser; and Idayat Hassan, Special Adviser to the NSA.
