Nigeria
Speaking at the First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the TPNW in Vienna in June 2022, Nigeria said: ‘The prohibition of nuclear weapon programmes is a necessary step towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 8 (13%) |
| 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 |
| 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| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2012) |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
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Nigeria expressed full support for the TPNW: ‘Rather than undermine the NPT, the nuclear ban treaty offers a strong and complementary process in furtherance of the disarmament pathways of the NPT.’2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Nigeria and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, Nigeria noted its role as a member of the ‘core group’ of states that promoted the negotiation of the TPNW and reiterated its support for the declaration and action plan adopted at the 1MSP.4
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Nigeria urged ‘all members of the international community, especially nuclear-weapon states and those under the so-called “nuclear umbrella”, to seize the opportunity to sign and ratify the Treaty at an early date and to pursue the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.’5
Nigeria was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 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.'6
Recommendations
- Nigeria should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Nigeria should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.