The United States has placed Nigeria on its 2026 Child Soldiers Prevention Act blacklist, a move that could restrict military training, foreign military financing and weapons sales to the country from October 1, unless President Donald Trump grants a waiver.
The designation was contained in the US Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, which identified Nigeria among 14 countries facing potential restrictions over the recruitment or use of children as soldiers.
The report, which covers the period from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, cited the continued recruitment and exploitation of children by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), particularly in Nigeria’s conflict-affected North-East.
Nigeria was listed 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 the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, countries on the list may face restrictions on specific categories of American military assistance, including International Military Education and Training, Foreign Military Financing and Excess Defence Articles. The law also limits licences for certain commercial sales of military equipment, subject to applicable exceptions and presidential waivers.
The restrictions could affect aspects of Nigeria’s security cooperation with Washington, particularly military training, defence financing and the procurement of American military equipment.
According to the US State Department, its determination is based on information obtained from multiple sources, including observations by American government personnel, United Nations agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations and local and international media reports.
The designation does not, however, automatically establish that the Nigerian Armed Forces or other government security agencies recruit or use child soldiers. Rather, it identifies governments under the law’s criteria concerning the recruitment or use of children by armed forces, security forces or government-supported armed groups.
The development comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with insurgency in the North-East, where Boko Haram and ISWAP have abducted and recruited children for combat and support activities. Children in armed conflicts may also be exploited as messengers, porters, guards and cooks or subjected to sexual exploitation.
Beyond the child-soldier designation, the 2026 report raised concerns about Nigeria’s efforts to combat human trafficking, noting that the country remained on Tier 2 for the 15th consecutive year.
The classification means Nigeria does not fully meet the minimum standards prescribed by the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act but is making significant efforts to comply with them.
The report also highlighted concerns over the accountability of public officials allegedly involved in trafficking-related offences, stating that the Nigerian government did not report investigations, prosecutions or convictions of government employees for alleged complicity in trafficking crimes during the reporting period.
It further disclosed that although Nigerian authorities identified 2,004 trafficking victims during the period, only 675 received government assistance, compared with 2,058 victims assisted in the previous reporting period.
The figures have raised further concerns about the capacity of government agencies to identify, protect and support victims of human trafficking, including vulnerable women and children.
The latest designation places additional pressure on the Federal Government to strengthen child-protection mechanisms, improve accountability and demonstrate compliance with international standards on preventing the recruitment and exploitation of children in armed conflict.
However, the extent of any restrictions on US military assistance to Nigeria will depend on the application of the law, including any presidential waiver or applicable statutory exception.
