Nigeria remains under the United States’ Country of Particular Concern (CPC) designation after Washington and Abuja concluded the second session of their Joint Working Group without announcing any change to the designation.
The development was disclosed in a U.S. State Department statement released on Thursday after Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker hosted a Nigerian delegation led by National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in Washington on August 12, 2026.
The meeting was the second formal engagement under the bilateral framework established after Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, with both sides reviewing progress on security, religious freedom, and accountability issues.
On October 31, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, marking a return to a similar designation imposed during his first term in office in 2020 over what he described as the persecution of Christians, particularly in northern Nigeria.
The Washington meeting was the second Joint Working Group (JWG) since Nigeria’s CPC designation and built on progress made since the inaugural session held in Abuja on January 22, 2026.
- According to the U.S. State Department, discussions focused on three priority areas: protecting Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, strengthening judicial and security institutions to hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and expanding military-to-military cooperation.
- While both sides reviewed progress on the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), counterterrorism prosecutions, and efforts to combat terrorism financing, the Joint Working Group identified continuing challenges, including reports of civilian fatalities and gaps in humanitarian expenditure transparency.
The United States acknowledged Nigeria’s reported efforts, stating:
“The United States noted Nigeria’s reported efforts to date, including the prosecution of hundreds of Boko Haram and Islamic State-West Africa (ISIS-WA) suspects, expansion of judicial capacity, and recruitment and training of 50,000 additional police officers.”
Both governments also discussed further cooperation on countering terrorism financing, expanding biometric information sharing to support accountability measures, and strengthening law enforcement capabilities through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Bureau of Counterterrorism.
Hooker also held a separate meeting with Ribadu to advance broader bilateral priorities, including efforts to protect Christian communities and deepen security cooperation between both countries.
