Nigerian Presidential state visit to the UK in March 2026
The President of Nigeria will make a state visit to the UK in 2026, the first by a Nigerian president since 1989.
President Tinubu of Nigeria will make a state visit to the UK on 18 and 19 March 2026. King Charles will receive the President at Windsor Castle.
Relations with Nigeria are underpinned by a strategic partnership agreed in 2024. The partnership provides a framework for closer cooperation on a wide range of topics, including growth, defence and security, migration, development, and people to people links.
This briefing sets out some of the economic and security issues facing Nigeria. MPs have raised concerns about attacks on Christians in Nigeria and debated freedom of religion or belief in Nigeria in January 2026.
Following the American and Israeli attacks on Iran in February 2026, the Nigerian Government warned of the “potentially grave consequences for regional and global stability” and called for de-escalation and restraint.
What are state visits?State visits are formal international visits by heads of state. Foreign monarchs, presidents or prime ministers are invited to visit King Charles III on the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). They usually involve certain ceremonial elements and start with an official reception at either Horse Guards in London, Windsor Castle or the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. They can include a parliamentary element. Read more about state visits and which country’s leaders have made the most state visits to the UK.
The first state visit in 37 yearsPresident Bola Tinubu will pay a state visit to the UK on 18 and 19 March 2026. King Charles will host President Tinubu at Windsor Castle.
This will be the first state visit by a Nigerian President to the UK since 1989. Previous state visits took place in 1973 and 1981.
However, this will not be the first time President Tinubu has visited the UK since taking office. King Charles received President Tinubu at Buckingham Palace in September 2024, where they reportedly discussed climate change.
The King, as Prince of Wales, has visited Nigeria on four occasions: in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. Queen Elizabeth II last visited Nigeria in 2003 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The Duke of Edinburgh visited Nigeria and met President Tinubu in November 2025. This visit focused on young people and youth leadership.
President TinubuBola Tinubu was elected President in May 2023, representing the centrist All Progressives Congress (APC) party that he co-founded in 2013. For his presidential campaign, he pledged to prioritise national security, the economy, agriculture, oil and gas, transport and education.
President Tinubu is a former governor of the affluent Lagos State and studied at Chicago State University in the United States. The First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, will accompany him on the state visit.
UK relations with NigeriaA 2022 report from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee set out the historical, political, economic and cultural connections between the UK and Nigeria. At the time, the government described Nigeria as a “critical partner in Africa”. The committee suggested the government should set its ambitions higher and view Nigeria not just as a partner in Africa but as a global partner. The committee highlighted Nigeria’s projected growth, increasing economic capabilities and cultural weight.
There is a large and vibrant Nigerian diaspora in the UK; over 270,000 stated Nigeria as their country of birth in the 2021 census for England and Wales. Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth and bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games (India was selected to host).
UK relationship with Nigeria underpinned by the 2024 Strategic PartnershipIn November 2024 the UK and Nigeria signed a Strategic Partnership during a visit by the then Foreign Secretary, David Lammy.
The partnership agreement has six pillars, some of which build on existing agreements and dialogues:
- Growth and jobs: implementing the enhanced trade and investment partnership agreed under the previous Conservative government to strengthen bilateral trade and investment. Nigeria is the UK’s 36th largest trading partner, according to latest figures (Nigeria Trade and Investment Factsheet, February 2026), with trade in goods and services amounting to £8.1 billion.
- Mutual national security: based on the security and defence partnership agreed in 2018. The FCDO hosted the third security and defence partnership dialogue in July 2025, at which the two countries committed to deepen cooperation to tackle evolving security threats and cyber fraud.
- Migration, justice and home affairs (MJHA) dialogue: building on a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding on Migration to facilitate regular, safe, legal and orderly migration, and committing to return nationals with no right to remain in each other’s territories. These commitments were reaffirmed at the MJHA dialogue in October 2025. The two countries also agreed to priority visa programmes that support UK-Nigeria trade and investment.
- Strengthening international collaboration: this will be supported through a new Foreign Policy Dialogue, covering common international challenges. Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, held talks with her counterpart, Yusuf Tuggar, in November 2025.
- A modernised development partnership: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told the International Development Committee it is resetting its developments partnership and will focus on strengthening Nigerian institutions and domestically financed development. In 2025/26, FCDO bilateral aid to Nigeria rose from £117 million to £135 million. The International Development Select Committee opened an inquiry into the UK’s development partnership with Nigeria in July 2025.
- Sustained people to people links. Specific areas include film production and higher education. There is a large Nigerian diaspora in the UK; over 270,000 stated Nigeria as their country of birth in the 2021 census for England and Wales. Over 57,000 Nigerians enrolled in higher education in the UK in the 2023 to 2024 academic year; though this was a drop of 36% compared to the previous year.
The state visit comes a few months after the UK Government published its “new approach to Africa” (December 2025). The new approach seeks to provide a framework to further UK partnerships with African states for “mutual long-term benefit,” and reflects a shift from “paternalism to a partnership of respect and equality,” according to the Minister for Africa, Baroness Chapman. The government plans to publish updates on progress under the framework “in due course”.
More information about the seven priorities can be found in Commons Library briefing The UK’s “new Approach to Africa” 2025.
Nigeria’s domestic policy contextThis section looks at some of the policy challenges facing Nigeria that will shape its relations with the UK and have attracted interest in the UK’s Parliament.
Fulfilling Nigeria’s economic potentialThe IMF (International Monetary Fund) says “Nigeria’s potential is beyond doubt” but that continued reforms are needed.
Since taking office in 2023, President Tinubu has adopted what the IMF has described as “bold reforms”, including scrapping fuel and power subsidies, devaluing the naira currency, liberalising the foreign exchange market and overhauling the tax system.
The World Bank has welcomed these reforms, saying that Nigeria has made “substantial progress on macroeconomic stabilisation”. The economy grew by 3.9% year-on-year in the first half of 2025, with strong performance in service and non-oil industries driving growth. Inflation fell to 15% in January 2026, the lowest level since 2020, and far below the 34% it reached at the end of 2024.
However, the bank has warned of persistent challenges, and observed that these measures have yet to substantially improve Nigerian’s livelihoods:
The Nigerian government has taken bold steps to stabilize the economy, and these efforts are beginning to yield results. The true measure of success will be how these reforms improve the daily lives of Nigerians — especially the poor and vulnerable.
The government has set a goal achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030, underpinned by an economic plan for 2026 to 2030.
A youthful populationYouth unemployment is an ongoing issue in a country in which over half of the population is under the age of 30. An overwhelming majority of young people see their country as moving “in the wrong direction” (Afrobarometer poll, June 2025). The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment has set out a blueprint for using Nigeria’s youthful population to turn the country into a “digital powerhouse”. However, Afrobarometer found that a majority of young people have considered emigrating to find better work opportunities and relief from economic hardship.
Nigeria’s population is forecast to double by the end of this century (PDF), from 230 million to 476 million, and expected to reach 374 million by 2054.
The economy and cost of living, and security and safety, are key issues for voters ahead of Nigeria’s next Presidential election (due in January 2027), according to Nigeria’s Business Day 2027 Election Insights January poll.
Security challengesNigeria faces a range of security challenges encompassing Islamist insurgency, terrorism, intercommunal violence, serious organised crime and cybercrime. There are a range of factors driving violence in the country, which include ethnic tensions, religion, criminality, and competition over land.
There is also extensive violence against both Christian and Muslim communities in parts of Nigeria, which MPs have raised concerns about (see below for more).
Nigerian President declares a national security emergencyIn November 2025, President Tinubu declared a national security emergency and ordered the recruitment of thousands of additional army and security personnel, following a wave of kidnappings and killings across the country.
Insecurity across the northIn the north of the country, Islamist insurgents and terrorist groups are responsible for numerous acts of violence. Islamist violence in Nigeria remains concentrated in northeastern Nigeria, accounting for over 85% of all Islamist-related incidents in 2025, according to the conflict monitoring project ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data). Prominent groups include Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other branches of Islamic State. In early 2025 the Nigerian Government designed a new group, Lakurawa, as a terrorist organisation.
Criminality and intercommunal violence is another cause of insecurity. Armed bandits (organised criminal gangs) operate in north-western Nigeria, engaging in illicit economies and kidnapping for ransom and causing significant civilian casualties.
The World Food Programme has warned Nigeria is facing “one of the worst hunger crises in recent times”, particularly in the north-west, where renewed violence has displaced families, destroyed food reserves and accelerated “alarming levels of hunger and insecurity”. Over half (2.2 million) of the 3.5 million internally displaced people are in the north-east.
Increase in attacks in the borderlandsThere are signs that jihadist groups have begun exploiting Nigeria’s porous borders with Benin and Niger, with Sahel-based groups moving into north-western Nigeria. Violent events involving jihadist groups in the borderland regions rose by 86% from 2024 to 2025, according to ACLED. Héni Nsaibia, a regional analyst at ACLED, has described the borderlands as an “under-governed space” that is generating almost “perfect conditions for the expansion of militant activities”.
At least 160 people were killed in attacks on two villages in north-west Nigeria near the border with Benin in early February 2026. The Financial Times’ West Africa correspondent said the deteriorating security crisis has left “vast tracks of Nigeria beyond the reach of its exhausted soldiers”.
The FCDO advises against travel to the north-east of the country and parts of the north-west.
Concerns about attacks on Christians and freedom of religion and beliefMPs have raised concerns with the Foreign Secretary about attacks on Christians in Nigeria. David Smith (Labour), the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB), led an adjournment debate on FORB in Nigeria on 13 January 2026.
Jim Shannon (DUP) pointed to the Global Christian Relief red list 2026, which identifies Nigeria as “one of the most dangerous environments for Christian communities”. This assertion is supported by research conducted by Open Doors, a non-governmental organisation which supports Christians worldwide. According to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026, 3,490 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2025, equating to 72% of all Christians killed worldwide for faith-related reasons in 2025.
Competition over land and water between Christian farmers and predominantly Muslim herders (who are mostly members of the Fulani ethnic group) is another source of insecurity. The UK funds a programme aimed at addressing the root causes of intercommunal violence across Nigeria’s middle belt, which the FCDO describes as supporting productive livelihoods for both farmers and pastoralists.
Nigeria is one of ten priority countries in the government’s FORB strategy. FCDO Minister of State Stephen Doughty said the government is working on tackling the root causes of instability and is extending its strengthening peace and resilience in Nigeria programme across a number of states.
US launches air strikes against Islamic StateIn December 2025, the US carried out air strikes against groups linked to Islamic State in northern Nigeria, citing their attacks on Christians (Islamic State affiliates have targeted both Christian and Muslim groups in the country). President Trump had previously said that “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (this designation is for countries which have engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom”). The US has also placed some restrictions on entry to the US for Nigerians.
President Tinubu rejected President Trump’s characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant, saying it “does not reflect our national reality” or the government’s efforts to safeguard freedom of religion and belief:
Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.
The US and Nigerian governments subsequently held a working group to address Nigeria’s Country of Particular Concern designation. The two countries agreed to identify joint measures to promote and protect the freedom of religion or belief and strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation. Nigeria is the United States’ second-largest trading partner in Africa.
Debates in ParliamentJim Shannon MP has led several debates on this freedom of religion or belief covering Nigeria:
- Freedom of religion and belief in Nigeria, February 2024
- Religious minorities in Nigeria, April 2023
- Violence against Christians: Central African Countries, September 2021
Baroness Chapman described as “abhorrent” abductions from schools and churches (more than 300 children and staff were taken from a Catholic school in central Nigeria in November 2025). The Minister said the UK is committed to strengthening its security and defence partnership and had assisted the Nigerian government in establishing a multi-agency unit dedicated to addressing the kidnapping threat and rescuing victims.
Further reading on insecurity in Nigeria- Q&A: Why is jihadist violence escalating in the Benin, Niger, and Nigeria border triangle?, ACLED, February 2026
- Who are Nigeria’s “newest” jihadist militants, James Barnett, Hudson Institute, 15 October 2025
- Q&A: The Islamic State’s pivot to Africa, ACLED, September 2025
- Africa surpasses 150,000 deaths linked to militant Islamist groups in past decade, Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, July 2025
- Is Lakurawa the emerging face of terror in the Sahel?, Uche Igwe, LSE blogs, January 2025
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry warned of the “potentially grave consequences for regional and global stability” following the American and Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February 2026. Nigeria has reiterated its support for the rule of law and called for de-escalation and restraint in the Gulf region:
We urge strict adherence to the provisions of the United Nations Charter and the Geneva Convention, particularly taking into cognisance the respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The government has advised Nigerians in Iran and Gulf countries to restrict non-essential movement and avoid large gatherings.
There have been peaceful demonstrations in Lagos and other towns across Nigeria denouncing the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Footnotes