LAGOS: Nigerian authorities announced Monday the country had strengthened its “security partnership” with the US, while again rejecting accusations of targeted persecution against Christians in the West African country.
The announcement follows US President Donald Trump’s threats of military intervention in early November over allegations that militants were “killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers” in Nigeria.
A Nigerian delegation, including the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, visited Washington last week to meet with senior US officials to discuss their concerns, according to a statement from Nigeria on Monday.

“Following these engagements, the US government affirmed its readiness to deepen security cooperation with Nigeria,” said the statement from Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
He specified that the cooperation includes enhanced intelligence support, expedited processing of defense equipment requests and the “potential provision of excess defense articles.”
While meeting with US officials, Nigerian authorities said they “refuted allegations of genocide” against Christians, “emphasising that violent attacks affect families and communities across religious and ethnic lines,” according to the statement.
“The delegation strongly rejected wrongful framing of the situation, saying such would only divide Nigerians and distort the realities on the ground,” it added.
On Friday, the US Department of Defense said the two parties discussed ways to end violence against Christians and strengthen the fight against militants that has plagued much of the region.
Nigeria has faced militancy in the northeast that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around 2 million since it broke out in 2009.
The violence has spilt over into neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting the creation of a regional military force to fight the militants.
Nigeria has also faced violence led by “bandit” gangs in the northwest that commit kidnappings, village raids and killings.
Separately, Nigeria’s president on Sunday reassigned VIPs’ police bodyguards to core policing duties and ordered tens of thousands of new officers to be recruited due to a security crisis, his office said.
Tinubu “has ordered the withdrawal of police officers currently providing security for Very Important Persons,” said a statement from his office, adding that “many parts of Nigeria” are not adequately policed.
It said Tinubu also approved the recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers.
“In view of the current security challenges facing the country, President Tinubu is desirous of boosting police presence in all communities.”
A report published last month by the European Union Agency for Asylum said more than 100,000 of the estimated 371,000-strong force, were “assigned to the protection of politicians and VIPs, rather than to tasks serving the general population.”
“This shortage in manpower, as well as corruption and insufficient resources have resulted in delayed responses to crimes and numerous communities being left without protection,” said the report.