Trump’s Neocolonial “Slam” on Nigeria.Part IV. Growing US Pressure on Abuja

Washington’s policy of unrelenting pressure on the Nigerian government, which began last October, has gained further momentum in the recommendations developed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Thus, the Nigerian newspaper concludes, the essence of the US recommendations boils down to intensifying political pressure on Nigeria to force it to revise its defense policy in favor of cooperation with the United States, abandoning Russian military equipment.

It should be borne in mind that in 2021, Nigeria and Russia signed a defense agreement that provides for the supply of Russian military equipment, its servicing, and the training of local military personnel.

Last May, the newspaper continues, then Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army and current Minister of Defense Christopher Musa stated that Russia had provided Nigeria with military equipment and weapons, including drones, for conducting counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel region. Today, however, Washington, as part of the proposed bilateral agreement with Abuja on deepening military cooperation, is setting the condition that Nigeria abandon its military partnership with Russia.

As for another US adversary in Africa – China – Nigeria, following its multi-vector approach to developing foreign relations, confirmed its clear commitment in January of this year to building a strategic partnership with the PRC. This was agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries during President Bola Tinubu’s visit to China in September 2024.

Throughout 2025, this cooperation gained further momentum in areas such as infrastructure construction, trade, investment, and humanitarian issues. At the same time, Nigeria consistently adheres to the One-China principle as the foundation of its relations with the PRC.

Growing political pressure on Nigeria is accompanied by US military cooperation with Ghana. On February 24, 2026, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama met with the head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin Anderson, and discussed the expansion of military ties between the two countries, including joint naval operations. It is also noted that the US carried out an airstrike on jihadists in Sokoto State on Christmas Eve from Ghana’s coastal waters.

At the same time, in mid-February, AFRICOM began transferring military cargo to northeastern Nigeria, one of the epicenters of Nigerian jihadism. No fewer than three US military transport aircraft delivered a batch of military equipment to a Nigerian military base in Borno State in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists.

Noting the expansion of Washington’s military cooperation with Nigeria, the Nigerian publication NAIRAMETRICS, citing the US Africa Command, reported on January 12 that the United States had delivered a batch of critical military equipment to Abuja for military operations against terrorist groups and criminal organizations.

Furthermore, AFRICOM Commander General Dagvin Anderson stated on February 3 that the United States had sent a group of US military personnel to Nigeria to assist in the fight against terrorists.

A week later, in addition to the previous group of military advisers engaged in intelligence gathering and target designation for strikes, the United States sent approximately 200 additional servicemen to the country to train Nigerian forces in combating Islamist militants. These measures to expand cooperation, according to General Dagvin Anderson, were taken following his meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on February 8.

The Pentagon’s decision to strengthen its military presence in Nigeria, notes Military Africa, indicates Washington’s long-term commitment to engage in training, advising, and assisting Nigerian forces, despite the contradictory exchange of views between the two capitals.

Deepening defense cooperation, conducted under the pretext of protecting Christian communities and countering extremist violence following the 2024 loss of Washington’s largest military base in Niger, is in fact connected to the United States’ desire to strengthen its political positions in Africa’s most populous country and to try to turn it into a stronghold of American influence on the African continent.

At the same time, the poor quality of political analysis by the architects of the current US policy on Nigeria is notable. Their shallow understanding of the socio-political processes taking place in Nigeria, as well as interfaith and interethnic relations, is evidenced by their recommendations to the Nigerian authorities to repeal Sharia and blasphemy laws on the grounds that they lead to religious discrimination.

In response to these recommendations, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs stated that the implementation of Sharia law by Muslims is not subject to discussion at all, as it defines the Muslim way of life, as well as Muslims’ spiritual, moral, and legal tenets formed over centuries.

On top of that, US congressmen proposed that the Nigerian authorities disarm Fulani herders by banning the export of beef and other livestock products that they obtain by attacking Christian communities and then reselling them in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, South Africa, and Senegal.

Ultimately, the newspaper continues, the Council warned that further attempts to impose foreign rules for the performance of Muslim religious rites, enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution in the 12 northern states, are unacceptable, as they undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty, its constitutional order, and freedom of religion.

Therefore, Abuja was forced to continue developing military cooperation with the United States (which began with threats of military invasion and political blackmail from the American president) out of sheer necessity of stopping the wave of terrorism.

Overall, The Independent (Nigeria) believes that the expansion of military cooperation with the United States is neither historically justified nor strategically consistent with Nigeria’s long-term national interests, since modern history has shown that US military interventions in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and Syria led to the collapse of state institutions.

Victor Goncharov, expert on African affairs, PhD in Economics

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