{"id":12739,"date":"2026-02-19T08:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12739"},"modified":"2026-02-19T08:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T08:32:49","slug":"from-us-threats-to-holding-hands-did-nigeria-disarm-trump-on-security-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12739","title":{"rendered":"From US threats to \u2018holding hands\u2019: Did Nigeria disarm Trump on security? | Conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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In early November, a social media post by United States President Donald Trump set off alarm bells across Nigeria. The US \u201cDepartment of War\u201d, he said, was preparing to go into the West African country \u201cguns-a-blazing\u201d over what he claimed was the killing of Christians in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu swiftly hit back, rejecting the claims, saying that while the country faced a challenging security situation due to armed groups and banditry, it was untrue that Christians were specifically being targeted, as Muslim communities and traditional believers had also come under attack.<\/p>\n

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But the Trump administration was not appeased. It had placed Nigeria on its \u201cCountries of Particular Concern\u201d (CPC) watchlist for religious freedom, and soon made threats of sanctions, cuts to financial aid, and punitive measures against Abuja for \u201cfailing\u201d to protect Christians.<\/p>\n

As Nigerians worried about a potential bombing campaign against their nation, the Tinubu government \u2014 though still denying accusations of a \u201cChristian genocide\u201d \u2014 quietly pivoted. Instead of aggressive rhetoric, it said it would welcome US assistance in dealing with security challenges that have long proved a thorn in the side of successive Nigerian governments.<\/p>\n

Weeks later, on the night of December 25, the US launched what Trump described as \u201cpowerful and deadly\u201d strikes in northwest Nigeria but the US military\u2019s Africa Command (AFRICOM) made clear the attacks were carried out \u201cat the request of Nigerian authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n

That cooperation between the US and Nigeria only appears to have grown, culminating this week in 100 US military personnel arriving in the country to help train Nigerian soldiers in the fight against armed groups.<\/p>\n

Nigeria\u2019s Ministry of Defence said US forces will assist with \u201ctechnical support\u201d and \u201cintelligence sharing\u201d, and despite not playing a direct combat role, will help target and defeat \u201cterrorist organisations\u201d.<\/p>\n

To many, the developments come as a surprise \u2013 as in a little over three months, Nigeria appears to have overturned Trump\u2019s \u201cChristian slaughter\u201d claim to instead win US military support for Abuja\u2019s own military goals against armed groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a strong shift,\u201d said Ryan Cummings, the director of analysis at Signal Risk, an Africa-focused risk management firm. The narrative has \u201ctransitioned completely from a slap on the wrist to one where there seems to be a holding of hands in tackling this issue together\u201d.<\/p>\n

Although a notable shift, it is not fully surprising to many analysts, who see Nigeria\u2019s cooperation as a strategic move to de-escalate tensions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is neither unexpected nor hypocritical,\u201d said Cheta Nwanze, the CEO of Nigerian risk advisory SBM Intelligence, who noted that Nigeria\u2019s longstanding security partnerships since 1999 have favoured Western military doctrines.<\/p>\n

What has shifted, he said, is the \u201cUS posture\u201d: Washington now feels more entitled to get involved in a country where it sees strategic interests.<\/p>\n

\"Nigeria\"
Nigeria\u2019s National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker deliver a speech during the inauguration of the Nigeria-US Joint Working Group to boost counterterrorism cooperation at the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja, Nigeria, on January 22, 2026 [Marvellous Durowaiye\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lobbyists and working groups<\/h2>\n

Kabir Adamu, an analyst with Beacon Security and Intelligence in Abuja, feels the Tinubu administration has been \u201csuccessful in de-escalating the Trump threat and in establishing a joint working group between the two countries\u201d. But the \u201cchallenge\u201d, he said, is that Abuja has not been transparent enough about the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt what cost did [the government] do this?\u201d he asked. \u201cIt has so far failed to be transparent in letting Nigerians know what agreement it entered with the US government that led to a de-escalation of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, the US and Nigeria convened a joint working group<\/a> to address Nigeria\u2019s designation as a CPC and how the country can work to reduce violence against vulnerable groups. But outside of that, details of what transpired between the first Trump threats and the first US strikes are scant.<\/p>\n

However, Cummings of Signal Risk points to one deal, in particular, that he believes helped turn the tide: on December 17, the Nigerian government, through a legal intermediary, hired the DCI Group<\/a>, Washington, DC-based lobbyists, for a reported sum of $9m.<\/p>\n

According to the terms of the contract published online, DCI would \u201cassist the Nigerian government through Aster Legal in communicating its actions to protect Nigerian Christian communities and maintaining U.S support in countering West African jihadist groups and other destabilizing elements\u201d.<\/p>\n

In hiring DCI, Nigeria has decided to \u201cfight fire with fire\u201d, Cummings said, comparing Abuja\u2019s approach with what South Africa has done in the face of similar false accusations by Trump\u2019s government that a \u201cwhite genocide\u201d is taking place there.<\/p>\n

In both Nigeria and South Africa, the claims were first spread by local minority lobby groups aided by Republicans and evangelicals in the US, Cummings said. These groups fed selectively framed or exaggerated accounts into the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Nigeria hired a lobby group \u201cto basically persuade the Trump administration that what is happening in Nigeria and what has been told to the Trump administration by certain lobby groups was not an accurate reflection of the status quo,\u201d Cummings said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that seemingly has been pivotal in changing the stance of the US government towards Nigeria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Africa positions are strongly shaped by a conservative evangelical base in the US, Cummings added, displaying concern for Christians globally and sympathy for white minorities portrayed as supposed victims of Black governments.<\/p>\n

In the sense of playing to his core constituency, Trump\u2019s concerns for these groups are genuine, Cummings said, but in other ways, they are instrumental: Trump uses issues like \u201cChristian persecution\u201d or \u201cwhite genocide\u201d to pressure other countries on broader foreign\u2011policy alignment.<\/p>\n

\"Nigeria\"
People read newspapers reporting on US air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Nigeria, in Lagos, on December 26, 2025 [Sodiq Adelakun\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Calculated trade-off\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pressuring states for geopolitical gains plays out not just in Africa but outside the continent as well, both Nwanze and Adamu pointed out, citing the US\u2019s recent abduction of Nicolas Maduro, the then-president of Venezuela, which, like Nigeria, holds significant oil reserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigeria holds tens of billions of barrels of oil reserves and is Africa\u2019s largest producer. The US National Security Strategy prioritises securing strategic resources through unilateral action\u201d, so to some extent, the US\u2019s recent moves regarding Nigeria are about \u201casserting control over global energy flows\u201d, Nwanze said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe counterterrorism framing is genuine but convenient because it provides cover for interventions that also serve resource security objectives,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Also citing the example of Venezuela, Adamu said that witnessing the US\u2019s abduction of Maduro also likely \u201cmade the Nigerian government more disposed to US cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Adamu described Nigeria\u2019s decision to allow the US to intervene as \u201ca calculated trade-off\u201d \u2013 one that provides security benefits through US troops and intelligence sharing; and stronger diplomatic ties with a powerful country \u2014 while also maintaining Nigeria-led oversight of US operations.<\/p>\n

From Tinubu\u2019s side, cooperation with the US is an \u201coperational necessity\u201d, Nwanze said. \u201cNigeria\u2019s security forces are overstretched, and US intelligence and air power offer tactical advantages against militant groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Cummings cautioned that while US support may improve Nigeria\u2019s tactical counterterrorism capacity, it \u201ctreats the symptoms\u201d and not the socioeconomic conditions at the root of the violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been enough focus on how America can actually assist the Nigerian government in addressing the causes of these insurgencies, which very much lies in basic economics \u2013 creating employment opportunities, ensuring governance and access to public services in these areas are good, and ensuring that you as a country or as a government can make a better deal for local communities than the jihadists can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Risk of escalation by armed groups<\/h2>\n

In fact, a US military presence in Nigeria may actually empower the armed groups, the analysts noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a real risk of escalation,\u201d Nwanze said, noting that recent security data compiled by his firm has shown \u201can uptick in attacks\u201d since the US\u2019s CPC designation.<\/p>\n

He said armed groups like Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) and the al-Qaeda-linked Jama\u2019at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) \u201chave consistently exploited narratives of foreign intervention to recruit and radicalise\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe December strikes [on Nigeria by the US] provide propaganda material, allowing them to frame local grievances as part of a global war against Western forces,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is also the risk that militant groups will rebrand themselves as resisting foreign occupation, gaining propaganda advantages that outweigh tactical losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adamu said a US presence could motivate armed groups to intensify attacks, especially symbolically. But more than that, \u201cdue to the controversy and difference in support between Nigerians for the US presence, it can lead to a further polarisation of Nigeria along religious and ethnic divides\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are \u201cdomestic perception risks\u201d for Abuja, he said, noting that previous Nigerian governments had faced public criticism when allowing US presence in Nigeria, and many now feel Tinubu is \u201chanding the country over to US imperialism\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The domestic \u201coptics\u201d are a concern, Nwanze agreed. \u201cThe perception of compromised sovereignty feeds nationalist resentment and deepens distrust in government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Cummings, Nigeria was in a tough spot in the face of US aggression, and \u201con balance, it was a smarter decision by the Tinubu government [to have] greater alignment with the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n

The analyst argues that Nigeria is historically more pro\u2011West, with economic, political, social and diaspora ties to the US. He says in the absence of alternative partners \u2013 like BRICS or other South-South alliances \u2013 Abuja\u2019s cooperation and seeming alignment with the Trump administration was the best way to de-escalate this crisis.<\/p>\n

But other analysts like Nwanze are concerned that by choosing to concede to Trump the right to violate Nigerian sovereignty \u2014 even with Nigerian oversight \u2014 the Tinubu government had left the country exposed to further crises.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdding a US military footprint, however limited, risks deepening instability by broadening the conflict\u2019s ideological scope,\u201d he warned. \u201cThe [armed] groups were already motivated; now they have a more compelling story to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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In early November, a social media post by United States President Donald Trump set off alarm bells across Nigeria. The US \u201cDepartment of War\u201d, he said, was preparing to go into the West African country \u201cguns-a-blazing\u201d over what he claimed was the killing of Christians in Nigeria. Nigeria\u2019s government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu swiftly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}