National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu is in Washington with a high-powered Nigerian delegation for the second session of the United States–Nigeria Joint Working Group on security as both nations move to consolidate a rapidly expanding counterterrorism partnership.
The meeting, and a series of follow-up engagements, will focus on counterterrorism measures, review of progress since the group’s inaugural session, and next steps in the bilateral security architecture. A dedicated bilateral defence meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
The Joint Working Group was established following US President Donald Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”, CPC, in November 2025, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
The designation — which Nigeria had previously received during Trump’s first term in 2020 before being lifted under the Biden administration — was triggered by escalating violence against religious communities, including the June 2025 killing of at least 200 people at a Catholic mission housing internally displaced persons in Benue State, and an August 2025 mosque attack in Katsina State that left at least 27 worshippers dead.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which had recommended the CPC designation since 2009, welcomed Trump’s move as an “important step” to hold perpetrators accountable and protect vulnerable communities.
The first session of the Joint Working Group was held in Abuja on January 22, 2026, where both governments agreed to reduce violence against vulnerable groups — particularly Christians — and to create a conducive environment for all Nigerians to practise their faith freely. At that meeting, both sides committed to deepen operational cooperation, technology sharing, anti-money laundering measures, counter-terrorism financing, and law enforcement capacity building. The Washington meeting fulfils the agreement that the next session would be held in the United States.
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Other members of the Nigerian delegation include Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa;
Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede and the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, is also part of the delegation.
The American team is headed by Allison Hooker, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, who was sworn in as the 25th holder of the office in June 2025 and previously served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration. Hooker also led the US delegation at the January session in Abuja.
Strategic Stakes
The Washington talks come against the backdrop of a broader realignment of US–Nigeria security cooperation, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently confirming that both nations are now in “active counterterrorism cooperation.”
Analysts view the expanded engagement — spanning intelligence sharing, operational support, and financial-crime cooperation — as one of the most significant recalibrations of the bilateral relationship in over a decade.
For President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the Working Group offers a diplomatic pathway to address Washington’s religious-freedom concerns while unlocking enhanced US support against the insurgencies, banditry, and separatist violence that continue to strain Nigeria’s security across the North East, North West, and North Central zones.
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