US Lists Nigeria Under Child Soldiers Law, Putting Military Cooperation in the Spotlight

Abuja/Washington. The United States has placed Nigeria on its 2026 Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list. The designation could limit some US military assistance at a time when Washington and Abuja are fighting jihadist groups together.

The listing appears in the State Department's 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, published on October 11. It identifies Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as groups that continue to recruit, abduct and use children. Nigeria joins 13 other countries on the list, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan and Russia.

The report describes the children's roles as wide-ranging. It says children as young as 12 are used as cooks, spies, porters and checkpoint guards, and also as armed combatants and suicide bombers. Nigeria also failed to meet minimum standards for eliminating trafficking for the 15th consecutive year, although the report noted some improvement in funding and victim support.

The consequences are practical. Absent a presidential waiver, the CSPA restrictions cover international military education and training, foreign military financing, excess defense articles, peacekeeping operations and licences for direct commercial sales of military equipment. They took effect on October 1, 2026, unless an exemption or waiver is granted.

The timing matters because the two militaries are working closely. The US launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria in December 2025. On 17 May 2026, US and Nigerian forces carried out strikes on ISWAP targets in the northeast. Washington also sent 100 soldiers to provide training, technical and intelligence support.

One distinction needs care. The CSPA covers governments whose armed forces, police, other security forces or government-supported armed groups are credibly reported to recruit or use child soldiers.

But at least one outlet notes that the reports cite Boko Haram and ISWAP recruitment but do not establish that Nigeria's own military or security services recruit or use child soldiers. Headlines saying Nigeria "allows" or "blacklists over" child recruitment can therefore read as stronger than the evidence cited.

What happens next depends on whether President Trump grants a waiver. That would let cooperation continue while Abuja shows progress on child protection, for example in handling children rescued from or associated with armed groups.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/Science communicator, Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,United States Institute of Peace (USIP), [email protected] +233555275880

Sources
allAfrica, "U.S. Lists Nigeria Among 14 Countries Facing Military Aid Cuts" (Oct 13, 2026): https://allafrica.com/stories/202610140120.html

Vanguard: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/10/us-lists-nigeria-among-14-countries-facing-military-aid-cuts/

Parrot Nigeria (CSPA restriction categories): https://parrotnigeria.com/2026/10/12/child-soldiers-baby-factories-us-indicts-nigeria-over-official-complicity/

Axadle Times (summary of Premium Times and Anadolu reporting): https://axadletimes.com/ax-eye-on-africa/ax-west-africa/u-s-adds-nigeria-child-soldiers-list-risking-milit.html5

UA.news (CSPA definitions, citing Premium Times): https://ua.news/en/world/ssha-vnesli-nigeriiu-do-spisku-krayin-za-zakonom-pro-ditei-soldativ-premium-times-nigeria

Wikipedia, "2026 United States intervention in Nigeria" and "2026 in Nigeria" (background on joint operations; a secondary source, so verify against primary reporting): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_intervention_in_Nigeria