The United States says its second round of talks with Nigeria under a joint working group focused on protecting Christian communities in the Middle Belt, strengthening judicial and security institutions to hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and expanding military-to-military cooperation.
The meetings began on Wednesday and continued into Thursday in Washington.
Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA), led the Nigerian delegation, while Allison Hooker, under-secretary of state, headed the US team.
A statement issued by the US State Department said Hooker and the Nigerian delegation reviewed progress on internally displaced persons’ (IDP) resettlement to their ancestral homes, counterterrorism prosecutions, and combatting the financing of terrorism.
The joint working group also identified persisting challenges, including reports of civilian fatalities and gaps in humanitarian expenditure transparency, the statement added.
“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,” the statement reads.
“Both sides acknowledged that more work lies ahead, particularly with supporting IDPs.
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“The two sides also discussed continued cooperation on countering terrorism financing, biometric information sharing to support accountability measures, and law enforcement capacity building through the Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT).”
Hooker separately met with Ribadu to further advance bilateral priorities and reaffirm the US commitment to working with Nigeria to protect Christian communities and to deepen joint security cooperation, the US said.
The US-Nigeria working group held their first meeting in January in Abuja.
Both countries have reiterated their commitment to upholding the principles of religious freedom and the need to take joint active, sustained measures to promote and protect the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief for all in Nigeria
