PRESS RELEASE
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 September 2026 | Lagos, Nigeria
NIGERIA SPOKE FOR PALESTINE LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR, IT CHOSE SILENCE.
At the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Nigeria did not whisper about Palestine. Nigeria spoke.
It spoke about the devastation in Gaza. It condemned violence and aggression against innocent civilians. It declared, in words heard around the world, that the people of Palestine are not collateral damage. It reaffirmed, “without stuttering and without doubt,” that a two-state solution remains the path to lasting peace.
That was Nigeria’s voice one year ago.
At UNGA 81 this week, Nigeria’s national statement ran to twenty-four paragraphs. It found room for Security Council reform. For climate finance. For artificial intelligence. For global debt architecture. For counter-terrorism in the Sahel. It found no room for Palestine.
Gaza: not mentioned.
The Palestinian people: not mentioned.
The two-state solution- the very phrase Nigeria used “without stuttering and without doubt” twelve months ago- not mentioned once.
This was not an oversight. It was a choice.
Since this administration assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria’s security and diplomatic engagement with Israel has moved in only one direction: closer.
In August 2025, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs formally signed a Security Cooperation Agreement with Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister. Since then, we have seen:
– A string of high-level engagements on intelligence sharing, surveillance technology, and counter-terrorism training;
– Plans for a Nigeria-Israel Joint Commission spanning security, health, technology and economic cooperation;
– And as recently as March 2026, reports of further defence and intelligence cooperation being advanced- even as Israeli military operations in Gaza drew worldwide condemnation, and even as the International Court of Justice actively hears South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
Nigeria’s most explicit solidarity with Palestine came before this deepening of ties with Israel. Nigeria’s silence came after .
We ask plainly: is that a coincidence?
If Nigeria’s position has changed, Nigerians deserve to know. If it has not changed, then why did an address built around justice, international law, humanitarian access and the protection of civilians find no room- not one sentence- for the Palestinian people?
Nigeria cannot demand respect for international law while being selective about where that principle applies. Nigeria cannot speak passionately about protecting civilians and then leave Palestine outside the frame. Nigeria cannot deepen security and intelligence cooperation with a state facing genocide proceedings at the world’s highest court, and go silent on that state’s victims at the world’s highest podium.
Justice is not convenient. It is not seasonal. It is not dependent on the audience, or on who Nigeria is courting for counter-terrorism partnerships this quarter. Condemnation alone has not moved this administration. Words have not been enough. It is time for Nigeria to act.
MPAC demands that the Federal Government of Nigeria:
1. Join South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, Ireland, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland and Namibia have already filed declarations of intervention. Nigeria- Africa’s largest democracy, and home to the continent’s largest Muslim population- is conspicuously absent. That absence must end.
2. Make security cooperation with Israel conditional on accountability. The 2025 Security Cooperation Agreement and the proposed Joint Commission must not proceed on autopilot while the conduct of the war in Gaza remains under international judicial scrutiny.
3. Stand publicly with the moral majority- not just in speeches but in the room. Dozens of nations- including most of Israel’s own regional neighbours- walked out of the General Assembly hall in protest when Netanyahu took the podium this year. Nigeria’s delegation was not among them. The next time that moment comes, Nigeria must be standing with them, not sitting this one out.
Palestine has not disappeared. Gaza has not disappeared. The suffering has not disappeared. And the question- what changed, and why- has certainly not disappeared.
Nigeria spoke for Palestine last year. The world heard it. This year, we heard the silence. Given what has grown between Abuja and Tel Aviv in the interval, that silence now speaks for itself.
We deserve to know why. And we demand that Nigeria act to correct it.
-END-
Disu Kamor
Executive Chairman
Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC), Nigeria
kamor.disu@mpac-ng.org.ng | www.mpac-ng.org
About The Author
