Nigeria: Politics and Government

(asked on 21st July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) security and (b) political situation in Nigeria.


Answered by
James Duddridge Portrait
James Duddridge
This question was answered on 6th September 2021

The UK Government follows political developments in Nigeria closely and has regular engagement with the Nigerian Government. The Prime Minister discussed a range of issues with President Buhari in the margins of the Global Education Summit in July. I [Minister Duddridge] visited Nigeria in April and held discussions with the Foreign Minister and the President's Chief of Staff. In particular, we are monitoring increasing insecurity and the ongoing work of the judicial panels of inquiry which were established to investigate allegations of police and military brutality following last October's #EndSARS protests. We are also urging the Nigerian Government to continue dialogue with Twitter to lift the Nigerian Government's recent ban on Twitter.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by the security situation in Nigeria where terrorism, intercommunal violence and criminality, including recent kidnappings of schoolchildren, are affecting communities. I [Minister Duddrdige] met the Nigerian Foreign Minister again in July, along with Nigeria's Minister of State Education, where we discussed insecurity and the impact it was having on education. We are committed to helping Nigeria tackle the terrorist threat and are providing humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to support communities in need. We are engaging with local actors who are working to find solutions to intercommunal violence.

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