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President Bola Tinubu has approved the constitution of Nigeria’s delegation to the newly established US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, a key component of ongoing bilateral efforts to strengthen security cooperation between both countries.
The approval follows last week’s high-level engagements in Washington, DC, where a Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, met top US security and diplomatic officials to negotiate a renewed partnership on counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, defence modernisation and border security.
The Joint Working Group, one of the major outcomes of the Washington meetings, will serve as the central coordination platform for implementing security-related agreements reached by the two countries.
In a statement on Thursday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President had named Ribadu as head of the Nigerian side of the Working Group.
The statement read, “President Bola Tinubu has approved the constitution of the Nigerian side of the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group as part of steps to deepen collaboration in tackling security challenges in the country.
“The composition of the Joint Working Group was part of the agreement reached during the recent trip to Washington, DC, by a high-level Nigerian delegation led by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.”
Ribadu will be supported by a high-calibre multi-agency team comprising senior officials from key ministries and security institutions.
Members include the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; and the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Bernard Doro.
Also on the team are the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed; and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
To ensure smooth coordination between Abuja and Washington, Ms Idayat Hassan of the Office of the National Security Adviser and Mr Paul Alabi of the Embassy of Nigeria in the United States will serve as the secretariat of the Joint Working Group.
Onanuga said the President urged members of the newly constituted body to work closely with their American counterparts to ensure full and effective implementation of all bilateral agreements reached during the Washington visit.
Nigeria and the United States have, over the past decade, expanded security cooperation in areas such as counterterrorism, border protection, anti-kidnapping operations and maritime security.
However, the Tinubu administration has sought a broader, more structured engagement with Washington, particularly in response to the rising threat of terrorism, banditry, illegal arms proliferation and cross-border criminal networks.
The renewed cooperation follows a threat by President Donald Trump to send US forces into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if Africa’s most populous country did not stem what he described as the killing of Christians by terrorists.
He had also declared Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over killings of Christians, describing the situation as a “mass slaughter”.
“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” he said on Truth Social.
The Joint Working Group is expected to improve intelligence fusion, enhance training and equipment support for Nigeria’s armed forces, and streamline humanitarian and civilian-security coordination in conflict-affected areas.
With Ribadu’s appointment to lead the Nigerian side, the Presidency believes the Working Group will “accelerate the implementation of agreed frameworks”, particularly those aimed at improving national and regional security outcomes
Pascal Arogorn Ibe
