A Partnership Against Terrorism

As the remaining American military personnel deployed to Nigeria prepare to leave by the end of September, the central question is not the withdrawal itself. It is what Nigeria gained from the partnership, and who helped make it possible. The answer, this article argues, points to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

The presence of U.S. personnel marked more than a foreign military deployment. For a country that has fought Boko Haram, ISWAP and other violent extremist organisations for more than a decade, it represented a new phase in counterterrorism, one built around intelligence, technology, precision and international cooperation.

Ribadu stood at the centre of the diplomacy and planning behind that shift. On November 20, 2025, he led a Nigerian security delegation to the Pentagon, where he met U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Their discussions focused on terrorism, violence and ways the United States could work “by, with, and through” Nigeria to weaken jihadist terrorist organisations.

That phrase captured the partnership’s stated philosophy. The United States was not coming to take over Nigeria’s war, the article says. It was coming to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to fight it. Ribadu’s engagement continued on December 7, when he received a U.S. congressional delegation in Abuja for talks on counterterrorism cooperation, regional stability and the wider strategic security relationship.

On January 22, 2026, Ribadu led the Nigerian delegation at the first meeting of the Nigeria-U.S. Joint Working Group in Abuja. The article presents his role as extending beyond attendance at official meetings. He helped connect diplomacy, intelligence and defence planning in a partnership intended to improve Nigeria’s ability to confront terrorist threats.

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by, with, and through