UNITED States (US) President Donald Trump has recalled the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, in what appears to be part of a broader diplomatic shake-up across the country’s foreign missions.
State Department officials told The Guardian that the changes took place on Wednesday, when chiefs of mission began receiving notices from officials in Washington DC, informing them that their tenures would end in January.
The officials clarified that the recalled ambassadors were not losing their positions in the foreign service and would return to Washington for other assignments if they chose.
Nigeria is among 15 African countries affected by the shakeup. Others are Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Uganda.
Out of more than two dozen countries reportedly affected, Africa is the most hit continent.
In the Asia-Pacific region, affected countries include Fiji, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In Europe, Trump recalled US envoys in Armenia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovakia, while Guatemala and Suriname were affected in the Western Hemisphere.
All the ambassadors were appointed during the Joe Biden administration and had initially survived an early purge in the first months of Trump’s second term, which largely targeted political appointees.
Envoys typically serve terms of three to four years, and Mills was confirmed as the US ambassador to Nigeria in May 2023.
His recall comes amid strained US–Nigeria relations over visa disputes and security concerns, even as both countries continue to pursue initiatives aimed at strengthening their partnership.
The ICIR reports that Mills met with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, last week to discuss areas of bilateral cooperation, following remarks by US Congressman Riley Moore that the two countries were close to finalising a “strategic security framework” to address terrorism in Nigeria.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.