By Ebunoluwa Sessou
The United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Frank Garcia, has urged the Nigerian government to intensify efforts to protect Christian communities from attacks and ensure the safe return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes.
Garcia made the call during a visit to Abuja, where he held a series of high-level meetings with senior Nigerian government officials aimed at strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria strategic partnership in areas including security cooperation, justice sector reform, digital transformation, commercial diplomacy and regional stability.
According to a statement on the visit, Garcia met with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi; the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani; and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
During discussions on defence and security, the U.S. official welcomed Nigeria’s increased engagement under the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group (JWG), established to address concerns linked to Nigeria’s Country of Particular Concern designation.
