CITIZENS COMPASS— The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed the outcome of a security meeting with some officials of the United States of America.
The meeting centered on terrorism, banditry and communal bloodshed bedevilling Nigeria.
The Presidential Media Adviser, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, said the Nigerian team firmly dismissed what it called the “genocide narrative,” insisting that violence in Nigeria cuts across religious and ethnic lines. According to him, the delegation warned that adopting a one-sided framing would inflame tensions and obscure the complex drivers of insecurity.
Despite the tense undertones surrounding the genocide allegation, the outcome of the Washington engagements appears to have opened a new window of cooperation. Onanuga disclosed that the U.S. Government committed to deepen security ties with Nigeria, promising enhanced intelligence sharing, faster processing of defence equipment, and the possible release of excess military hardware to aid ongoing operations against terrorists and violent extremist groups.
Beyond military support, Washington also signalled readiness to provide humanitarian relief to communities in the Middle Belt hit hardest by recurring attacks, along with technical assistance to bolster early-warning systems aimed at preventing renewed violence.
Both sides, GWG.ng gathered, agreed to immediately activate a non-binding cooperation framework and set up a Joint Working Group to drive coordinated action on all agreed areas. In return, the Nigerian delegation reaffirmed what it described as President Tinubu’s commitment to strengthening civilian protection and restoring stability nationwide.
The Washington trip may not have ended the global debate over the alleged targeting of Christians, but it has, at least for now, secured a broader U.S.–Nigeria security partnership—one that Abuja hopes will help turn the tide against a crisis that continues to test the nation’s unity.
It was recently led by the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, in Washington DC.
The meetings came at a time when powerful American evangelical blocs and rights organisations have been pressing Washington to classify the killings in Nigeria as targeted attacks on Christians.
