What challenges does an African country face and why didn't the US army help it?
Nigeria is showing interest in Russian weapons in the context of an active fight against terrorism, the Russian Embassy in Abuja told Izvestia. After a series of explosions on March 16, which claimed the lives of at least 23 people, the topic of military-technical cooperation has become particularly acute. The fight against Islamists in the country has already gone beyond domestic efforts: in December, the United States, with the support of local authorities, attacked militant camps. However, experts emphasize that systemic problems, such as explosive population growth, poverty and an acute shortage of resources in the periphery, are preventing the suppression of terror.
Nigeria is interested in Russian weapons
The security situation in Nigeria remains critical. The country, torn apart by ethnic conflicts, separatist sentiments and religious confrontation, needs weapons.
— Nigeria is interested in Russian weapons primarily because of the large-scale challenges. These include the activities of Islamic extremist groups linked to international terrorist networks, as well as piracy in the Gulf of Guinea," the Russian diplomatic mission explained to Izvestia.
The legal foundation for cooperation has already been laid: an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation has been in force since 2023. In October 2024, the parties held the first meeting of the relevant working group, the second is scheduled for 2026 - now Moscow and Abuja are agreeing on the dates and venue of the meeting.
A Nigerian policeman stands at the Maiduguri market, where several explosions have occurred.
Image source: Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi
On the evening of March 16, four explosions occurred almost simultaneously in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. According to the investigation, the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers associated with the organization Boko Haram (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation).
The terrorist threat in Nigeria has not weakened over the past 15 years, Vsevolod Sviridov, Deputy director of the HSE Center for African Studies, told Izvestia. There is a complex conglomerate of groups operating in the region, which change their ideology and brands depending on local specifics. The key players — Boko Haram and ISWAP— the West African wing of the Islamic State (an organization recognized as a terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation) — are constantly competing for resources.
— They are fighting for control over illegal traffic, infrastructure and extortion from the population. The main pockets of instability are localized in the northeast, in the Lake Chad region, but there are separate enclaves in the north of the country," Sviridov stressed.
According to the UN, the conflict in northeastern Nigeria linked to Boko Haram and other Islamist groups claimed almost 350,000 lives by the end of 2020, with a significant proportion of deaths attributed to the indirect consequences of the war - famine, destruction of infrastructure and lack of access to medical care.
At the same time, tensions are rising: on March 18, the Nigerian military repelled an attack on a base in Mallam Fatori, eliminating 80 militants. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2026, the number of deaths at the hands of terrorists in the country increased by 46% last year (to 750 people), which placed Nigeria in fourth place in the world in this indicator.
The United States even tried to join the fight. In December, American forces attacked ISIS camps in Sokoto State, and in February, the AFRICOM command confirmed the dispatch of a group of 200 instructors to the country to train local personnel. However, the level of violence has not decreased.
Photo: REUTERS/Ahmed Kingimi/File Photo
Image source: iz.ru
According to Sviridov, a combination of demographic pressure and chronic socio-economic problems prevents Nigeria from completely defeating terrorism. The country's population is growing rapidly, while the state has to solve too many tasks at the same time in conditions of a shortage of infrastructure, so resources often simply do not reach peripheral regions. Against this background, for some young people, participation in criminal or radical groups remains almost the only way to earn money and achieve social self-realization. Nevertheless, the Government has managed to contain this threat. The zones of instability are gradually shrinking, and the country's economy is growing, the expert added.
An additional factor remains the religious split: Muslim and Christian communities make up more than 40% of the population each.
By the way, Boko Haram seeks to build an Islamic Sharia-based order in Nigeria and the region, rejecting the secular state and Western influence. Terrorists also often associate this with the fight against corruption and "injustice."
Cooperation between Russia and Nigeria
Nigeria remains Africa's largest country by population: according to the World Bank, 232.7 million people lived in the country in 2024, with an annual increase of 2.1%. At the same time, the economy is also growing: in 2024, GDP increased by 4.1%, and in the first half of 2025 - by another 3.9% in annual terms.
Photo: Global Look Press/Ferhat Bouda
Image source: iz.ru
One of the country's main problems is energy: only about 61.2% of people in Nigeria have access to electricity, and more than 80 million people live without it. Moscow can help Abuja here.
The two countries have long established contacts in the energy sector: the agreement on peaceful atom was signed back in 2009. The parties discussed the construction of a nuclear power plant and a research center, but the process of ratification of the documents by the Nigerian side was delayed. Rosatom's last contacts with the local relevant commission took place in September 2024.
According to Alexander Shipilov, a researcher at the Institute of General History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian companies are also interested in mining, grain and fertilizer supplies. Coordination within OPEC+ remains an important point of contact, which was discussed in July 2025 by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Nigerian Finance Minister Wale Edun.
"The fuel and energy complex is the basis of the Nigerian economy, but the country sorely lacks the capacity to process raw materials,— Shipilov explained. — There is fierce international competition for access to these resources, and Russian players often do not have enough long-term loans to successfully compete with Western giants.
Photo: REUTERS/Sodiq Adelakun
Image source: iz.ru
In addition to mining and processing, the development of generation, modernization of energy supply and training of specialists are critically important for Nigeria — it is in these areas that Russian participation could give cooperation a more applied character.
If Abuja manages to convert economic growth into a real improvement in people's lives and resolve the security issue, the country will be able to strengthen its international position, Shipilov concluded.
Daniil Sechkin
