The United States has reviewed Nigeria’s progress in addressing violence against Christians and other vulnerable groups as both countries continue discussions on religious freedom, security and counterterrorism.
The review was conducted during the second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG), held in Washington on Wednesday. The session was led by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The meeting followed the inaugural JWG session held in Abuja on January 22, where both countries discussed growing violence against vulnerable communities, particularly Christians, and measures to ensure Nigerians can practise their faith without fear of attacks by terrorists, separatists, bandits and criminal groups.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State on Thursday, the latest discussions focused largely on protecting Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and ensuring that perpetrators of violence are brought to justice.
The two sides also examined ways to strengthen Nigeria’s judicial and security institutions while expanding military-to-military cooperation between both countries.
Hooker and Ribadu reviewed the progress of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in several areas, including the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their ancestral communities, prosecution of terrorism suspects and efforts to disrupt the financing of terrorist organisations.
The U.S. government acknowledged Nigeria’s reported efforts, including the prosecution of hundreds of Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) suspects.
Washington also recognised steps by the Nigerian government to increase judicial capacity and its plans to recruit and train an additional 50,000 police officers.
However, the United States noted that significant challenges remain, including reported civilian deaths and concerns over transparency in humanitarian spending.
“Both sides acknowledged that more work lies ahead, particularly with supporting IDPs,” the department said.
Nigeria and the U.S. further agreed to strengthen cooperation against terrorism financing and improve the sharing of biometric data to support investigations and accountability.
The partnership will also include efforts to build the capacity of Nigerian law enforcement agencies through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Bureau of Counterterrorism.
The State Department said Hooker also held a separate meeting with Ribadu to advance bilateral security priorities and reaffirm Washington’s commitment to working with Nigeria to protect Christian communities and deepen security cooperation.
The latest engagement comes amid continued scrutiny of Nigeria’s designation by the United States as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom.