US blacklists Nigeria over child soldier use, threatens military aid cuts
The United States has placed Nigeria on its Child Soldiers Prevention Act list, a designation that could trigger cuts to US military aid, arms sales and defence cooperation starting October 1, 2026 unless President Donald Trump grants a waiver. The move comes from the State Department's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, released October 11, which reviewed Nigeria's anti-trafficking efforts from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. The report names Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as armed groups still recruiting, abducting and using children as young as 12 for roles such as cooks, domestic workers, spies, checkpoint guards and combatants, often subjecting them to physical and sexual abuse and forced drug use. It also cites official corruption, weak prosecution of trafficking offences and inadequate victim support as contributing factors. Under the CSPA, listed countries face restrictions on International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing, Excess Defense Articles and certain peacekeeping support, and the law blocks licences for direct commercial sales of military equipment to their governments, though waivers or case-by-case exceptions are possible. Nigeria joins 13 other nations—including Russia, Iran, Somalia, South Sudan and the DRC—under scrutiny. The development comes as Washington and Abuja maintain security cooperation against terrorism. Will Nigerian authorities act swiftly to end child recruitment, tackle corruption and improve victim support to secure a waiver and preserve vital US defence assistance?