Trending 
A senior U.S. official is scheduled to arrive in Nigeria this Monday for a two‑day visit to boost cooperation on counterterrorism financing and financial sector safeguards, the U.S. Embassy said.
The visit is a part of the “Trump administration’s efforts to reduce violence against Christians and other vulnerable groups,” according to a statement by the US embassy in Nigeria on Sunday.
The embassy said Jonathan Burke, the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will meet with Nigerian government authorities and private-sector stakeholders.
According to the embassy. Burke will discuss the “risks to the financial sector” and “strengthen safeguards.”
Burke’s visit follows a high‑level delegation led by Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker that met with Nigerian officials in January to launch a bilateral joint working group on counterterrorism cooperation and responses to attacks against Nigerian Christians.
The engagements follow the United States and Nigeria’s increased security cooperation.
In recent months, Washington designated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern, a label tied to concerns about religious freedom, and conducted U.S. military strikes against suspected militants in northwest Nigeria late last year.
Earlier this month, about 100 U.S. military personnel arrived in Nigeria, marking the initial deployment of a planned 200 troops to support Nigerian forces in counterterrorism training and intelligence sharing.
Last year, a Congressional delegation visited Abuja and met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, focusing on ongoing security discussions between the two governments.
Nigeria and the United States have long collaborated on counterterrorism and associated financial intelligence projects.
This includes Nigeria’s involvement in regional anti-money laundering frameworks and enforcement collaborations aimed at disrupting extremist groups’ funding networks.
