Nigeria and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation on security, counterterrorism and regional stability following a series of high-level meetings in Washington involving Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Ribadu, who undertook a three-day working visit to the United States from May 4 to May 6, met with top U.S. officials, including Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Undersecretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, and Assistant Secretary of War Daniel Zimmerim.
According to a statement issued on Friday by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the meetings focused on deepening collaboration in counterterrorism, defence cooperation, intelligence sharing, regional security, economic resilience and democratic governance.
During the engagements, Ribadu conveyed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to sustaining Nigeria’s longstanding strategic partnership with the United States.
The NSA stressed the need for stronger international cooperation in tackling terrorism, violent extremism, transnational organised crime and cyber threats across West Africa and the Sahel region.
He also reiterated Nigeria’s role as a frontline state in counterterrorism operations within the Lake Chad Basin and the wider West African sub-region.
Discussions during the visit also centred on the evolving security situation in the Sahel and measures to improve regional coordination and institutional capacity in addressing complex security threats.
At the U.S. Department of State, Ribadu expressed appreciation for continued American support in areas such as intelligence collaboration, defence capacity building, humanitarian assistance and counterterrorism operations.
Both countries reviewed progress under the Nigeria–U.S. Joint Working Group framework, established to strengthen structured cooperation on strategic and security-related issues.
The talks explored practical steps to improve intelligence sharing, military cooperation, border security, strategic communications and capacity development for Nigerian security institutions.
Ribadu also briefed U.S. officials on ongoing reforms by the Nigerian government aimed at improving national security and stabilising affected communities through both kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including economic development, community engagement, deradicalisation programmes and regional partnerships.
U.S. officials commended Nigeria’s leadership role in promoting peace and security across Africa and reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to supporting regional stability and democratic governance.
Both sides expressed optimism about the future of the Nigeria–United States strategic partnership and pledged to sustain diplomatic engagement and defence cooperation through the Joint Working Group framework.