Nigeria
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, the Minister of Defence of Nigeria, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, welcomed the adoption of the TPNW in 2017. ‘My delegation remains proud to have participated actively in the processes leading to this milestone achievement, as well as being one of the first countries to sign it,’ he said. He encouraged those states that have not yet ratified or acceded to the TPNW to do so, describing it as ‘a major means of our having a world free from nuclear weapons’.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 6 (0%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2001, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1968) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1999) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (29 Feb 1988) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2012) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Nigeria participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it renewed its commitment to the Vienna Action Plan of 2022 for the ‘effective and timely implementation of the TPNW’ and underscored its ‘continued commitment to the principle of universalisation’. ‘We are convinced that nuclear weapons remain the principal threat to humanity and their elimination is a major boost to international peace and security,’ it said.2
Nigeria was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.3
In January 2023, Nigeria participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.4
Recommendations
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Nigeria should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Nigeria should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.