Nigerian assets suffer huge loss in markets after Trump’s military threat

Nigeria’s dollar bonds suffered the biggest losses in emerging markets on Monday, November 3, 2025, while the naira also recorded a 1.2% depreciation against the United States dollar, trading at 1,442.80.

The development comes after the United States President Donald Trump threatened military action in the country if its government doesn’t halt the killings of Christians by Islamist militants.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Nigerian dollar bonds fell across the maturity curve, comprising all 10 of the worst performers in emerging markets worldwide on Monday.

The notes maturing in 2047 were down most, falling as much as 0.6 cents on the dollar to 88.26 cents before paring the decline.

The naira also dropped, falling 1.2% to 1,442.80 against the dollar, the most on an intraday basis since June. That was also the biggest loss among emerging-market currencies on the day.

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“We expected a negative knee-jerk reaction on the back of Trump’s comments, but we are comfortable with Nigeria’s creditworthiness and outlook. We expect markets will calm down,” the portfolio manager at PineBridge Investments, Anders Faergemann, said.

Trump had, in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, said he’s instructing the Pentagon “to prepare for possible action” and threatened an immediate cutoff in aid to Nigeria.

Trump said he was designating Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” because of worries about the safety of Christians.

President Bola Tinubu rejected Trump’s characterisation of the country, saying he was disregarding “the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.”

Investors had turned more positive on Nigeria since Tinubu’s election in 2023, after he took difficult steps to reform the economy that included removing a costly fuel subsidy and liberalising the currency market.

The average spread on Nigeria’s sovereign dollar bonds over US Treasuries had plunged to about 400 basis points from nearly 1,000 basis points in 2023, a level that investors typically consider to mark debt distress.

The Star