President Bola Tinubu has appointed National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to lead Nigeria’s delegation to the newly established US–Nigeria Joint Security Working Group, a high-level partnership designed to deepen cooperation on defence, counter-terrorism, and intelligence sharing.
The appointment follows recent strategic engagements in Washington, D.C., where Ribadu led a Nigerian team for talks with senior US officials on strengthening bilateral security ties.
According to a statement issued late Thursday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Ribadu will head a team comprising key cabinet members and security chiefs.
The delegation includes:
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar
Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Bernard M. Doro
Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede
Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Mohammed Mohammed
Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun
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The working group’s secretariat will be jointly coordinated by Ms. Idayat Hassan of the Office of the National Security Adviser and Mr. Paul Alabi of the Nigerian Embassy in Washington.
President Tinubu has tasked the officials to collaborate closely with their American counterparts to ensure full implementation of commitments reached during the Washington meetings.
Once fully operational, the joint working group will supervise key areas of cooperation, including counter-terrorism initiatives, regional security, defence capacity-building, and intelligence coordination.
The development comes at a sensitive moment in US–Nigeria relations, following Washington’s decision, under President Donald Trump to reclassify Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged violations of religious freedom, with warnings of potential consequences if attacks on Christian communities persist.
