Nigeria demands total elimination of nuclear weapons at UN meeting

Nigeria has called for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, warning that humanity cannot continue relying on weapons capable of destroying civilisation for collective security.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb. Jimoh Ibrahim, made the call at a high-level UN meeting on nuclear disarmament in New York, United States, on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

The meeting commemorated the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons during the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly.

Ibrahim said Nigeria firmly believed that the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of nuclear weapons was their complete elimination.

Ibrahim said thousands of nuclear warheads remained in existence while nuclear-weapon States continued modernisation programmes amid rising geopolitical tensions and growing pressure on global arms-control arrangements.

“Nigeria firmly believes that the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination,” he stated.

The envoy declared that the country neither possessed nuclear weapons nor considered them necessary for its national security.

“Nigeria does not possess nuclear weapons, has never pursued a nuclear-weapons programme and has no intention of doing so. Our security does not depend on nuclear weapons,” he said.

According to him, enduring global security should instead be anchored on dialogue, international law, multilateral cooperation and the equal security of all countries.

Ibrahim said President Bola Tinubu’s administration remained committed to international efforts aimed at achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

“President Tinubu has consistently affirmed Nigeria’s readiness to work with the international community in advancing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,” Ibrahim said, adding that Nigeria envisaged “a world in which no nation needs to rely on nuclear weapons for its security.”

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The Nigerian representative consequently urged nuclear-weapon countries to honour their disarmament obligations under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

He also called on them to fulfil longstanding commitments toward the irreversible, transparent and verifiable elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

“The continued modernisation of nuclear weapons and reliance on nuclear deterrence only heighten the risks of miscalculation, escalation and catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” Ibrahim added.

The ambassador reaffirmed Nigeria’s strong commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Ibrahim said Nigeria encouraged countries yet to join the prohibition treaty to consider doing so as part of collective efforts toward eliminating nuclear weapons.