The United States has positioned Nigeria on its 2026 listing of countries whose governments are recognized as having armed forces, safety forces or government-supported militias that recruit or use child soldiers, exposing the nation to restrictions on sure US navy help and tools gross sales.
The designation, contained within the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, means Nigeria might face restrictions on particular safety help and industrial licences for navy tools from 1 October, except the restrictions are waived or an relevant exception is granted by US President Donald Trump.
Nigeria is among 14 countries included on the 2026 Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) listing, alongside Afghanistan, Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen.
Under Section 402 of the CSPA, the US authorities identifies overseas governments whose armed forces, police, different safety forces or government-supported armed teams allegedly recruit or use child soldiers. The newest determinations cowl 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
The regulation prohibits sure types of help to listed governments, together with International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing and Excess Defence Articles. It additionally restricts the issuance of licences for direct industrial gross sales of navy tools, topic to relevant exceptions and presidential waivers.
The restrictions might have implications for Nigeria’s navy cooperation with Washington, notably in areas involving coaching, financing and the acquisition of US navy tools.
The State Department stated its willpower attracts on a number of sources, together with observations by US authorities personnel, United Nations businesses, worldwide organisations, civil society teams and native and worldwide media reviews.
Under the CSPA, a child soldier contains anybody underneath 18 who’s compulsorily recruited into authorities armed forces or safety forces, in addition to kids recruited or utilized in hostilities by armed forces distinct from a state’s navy.
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The definition additionally covers kids serving in assist roles, together with as cooks, porters, messengers, medics, guards or victims of sexual exploitation.
Nigeria’s inclusion on the listing comes amid longstanding issues concerning the recruitment and exploitation of kids within the nation’s battle zones, notably within the North-east, the place Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have kidnapped and recruited kids for fight and assist roles.
The designation doesn’t, nonetheless, set up that the Nigerian navy or safety providers recruit or use child soldiers.
The itemizing places stress on the Nigerian authorities to deal with issues over child recruitment and display compliance with worldwide requirements on the safety of kids in armed battle.
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