The United States and Nigeria have commenced a fresh round of talks in Washington, D.C., with security cooperation and counterterrorism efforts topping the agenda of their joint working group.

Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, led the Nigerian delegation at Wednesday’s meeting, while the U.S. Under-Secretary of State, Allison Hooker, headed the American team.

The Nigerian delegation also included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; and Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

According to the meeting agenda, both sides are expected to review counterterrorism efforts, assess progress in bilateral cooperation and identify further steps to strengthen collaboration between the two countries.

A bilateral defence meeting between Nigeria and the United States is also scheduled for Thursday.

The joint working group was established following President Donald Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over religious freedom concerns.

The two countries held the inaugural meeting of the group in Abuja in January as part of efforts to deepen cooperation on security and other areas of mutual interest.

Both governments have reiterated their commitment to protecting religious freedom and fundamental rights in Nigeria, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of religion or belief.

U.S. Raises Fiscal Transparency Concerns

The renewed security engagement comes as the U.S. Government raises fresh concerns over Nigeria’s fiscal transparency, saying the country has made limited progress in providing comprehensive information on public finances.

In its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, published by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday, Washington said Nigeria had made some key fiscal documents publicly available but failed to provide sufficient information on government revenues and expenditures.

The report also raised concerns about the gap between Nigeria’s approved budget and its actual implementation.

It said actual government revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond with those contained in the enacted budget, while information on public procurement contracts was not easily accessible.

The U.S. further criticised Nigeria’s supreme audit institution, saying it did not meet international standards for independence or consistently publish substantive audit reports despite having access to the country’s entire executed budget.

On public procurement, Washington said transparency remained a challenge, particularly regarding public access to government contract information.

However, the report acknowledged areas of progress, including the public disclosure of Nigeria’s debt obligations and major debts owed by state-owned enterprises.

It also noted that Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund had a sound legal framework and disclosed information about its funding and general approach to withdrawals.

The U.S. report further acknowledged that Nigeria had established legal criteria and procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts and licences and generally followed the existing regulations.

To strengthen fiscal transparency, the U.S. Government recommended that Nigeria make its executive budget proposal widely and easily accessible to the public, including through online platforms.

The latest developments highlight the broadening scope of Nigeria-U.S. relations, with security cooperation, human rights and transparency increasingly featuring in bilateral engagements.