The United States has retained Nigeria on its Country of Particular Concern list, despite acknowledging progress in security and counterterrorism efforts. The position followed the second session of the Nigeria-United States Joint Working Group held in Washington.
The talks, led by United States Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, focused on protecting vulnerable communities, strengthening judicial and security institutions, and improving military cooperation. Washington also recognised Nigeria’s prosecution of terrorism suspects, expanded judicial capacity and recruitment and training of 50,000 additional police officers.
However, the discussions identified continuing challenges, including reports of civilian deaths and gaps in transparency over humanitarian spending. Both countries agreed to deepen cooperation on counterterrorism, terrorism financing, biometric information sharing and law enforcement, while the designation remains in place.
