Israel–Nigeria Relations

Israel and Nigeria maintain relations across diplomacy, commerce, development, security, technology, agriculture, and religious travel. Official diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties began in 1960; after the post-1973 rupture, formal relations were restored in 1992, and both countries maintain embassies.[1]

The partnership combines government-to-government mechanisms with private investment, professional training, pilgrimage, and counterterrorism contacts. Its trajectory has also been shaped by Nigeria's religious diversity, African and Middle Eastern diplomacy, and differing positions at the United Nations.[1][2]

Israel's interest in Nigeria predated Nigerian independence. Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir made her first trip to Africa in 1958, during which she visited Nigeria; in the first year of Israel's technical-cooperation program, two Israeli experts were dispatched to the country.[3] When Nigeria achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, Meir returned to attend the independence celebrations—a deliberate diplomatic gesture that, according to the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, was favorably received as a sign of Israel's genuine interest in the continent.[3]

Israel and Nigeria formally established diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties in 1960.[1] From the outset, Israel's Foreign Ministry regarded Nigeria as a large, mineral-rich country and a central actor in African affairs, and the Israeli Defense Ministry began efforts to enter Nigeria's weapons market as early as 1961.[4] Israel dispatched experts and volunteers to support Nigerian development in agriculture, education, medicine, and technology training; hundreds of Nigerian farmers, educators, academics, students, doctors, community workers, and engineers received training in Israel during this period.[5]

Israel's economic interest was also shaped by Nigeria's oil wealth and natural resources. Israeli companies sought African raw materials, particularly diamonds and timber, while selling Israeli industrial goods and using African countries as a base for commercial operations.[3] Ben-Gurion University scholarship on Israel's African interventions between 1955 and 1973 characterizes the close relations that emerged as resting on shared political, economic, and social agendas, while acknowledging that postcolonial leaders faced competing challenges that ultimately took priority.[6]

The early relationship was not without complications. During the Nigerian Civil War of 1967–1970, a 1973 U.S. State Department research study reported that Nigeria received Arab support and assistance, while Israel provided arms to Biafran secessionists. The study noted that Biafran leader Lt. Col. C. O. Ojukwu saw an analogy between Biafra's struggle and Israel's fight against numerically superior Arab nations.[7] That study also recounted a December 1970 episode in which Arab representatives at an open Organization of African Unity session in Lagos insisted that Israel's ambassador be expelled from the diplomatic gallery; even normally pro-Arab Nigerian newspapers criticized the breach of diplomatic courtesy.[7]

Nigeria's relationship with Israel was fundamentally disrupted by the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Nigeria was among approximately 25 African nations that severed relations with Israel after that conflict.[8] The causes were multiple: the global oil crisis created intense pressure on African states, Arab countries offered promises of cheaper oil and financial aid, and an Organization of African Unity resolution sponsored by Egypt called for the severance of ties.[5][9] Nigeria's internal dynamics reinforced these external pressures; the Library of Congress Nigeria country study links the country's position on the Arab-Israeli dispute to its ethnic and religious composition, including Muslim opposition and sympathy toward the Arab Muslim world.[10]

Even during the period of broken diplomatic relations, some commercial ties and technical-cooperation activity continued between Israel and African countries more broadly.[9] The Library of Congress study describes an initial reinstatement of Nigeria's diplomatic relations with Israel under President Ibrahim Babangida in August 1991. Shortly afterward, Babangida invited PLO leader Yasir Arafat to Nigeria and received him with a 21-gun salute; in the same month, Babangida suspended Nigeria's membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.[10]

Formal relations were restored in 1992. Nigeria opened an embassy in Israel in April 1993, while Israel's embassy is located in Abuja.[1] In 2012, Nigerian Ambassador David Oladipo Obasa combined Nigeria's national-day celebration with an event at his Kfar Shmaryahu residence commemorating the 20th anniversary of the diplomatic resumption.[11]

Since the restoration of ties, the bilateral relationship has been formalized through a growing institutional architecture. A 2006 memorandum between the Nigerian and Israeli foreign ministries formalized bilateral consultations on political issues, facilitating dialogue and cooperation on regional and international matters.[1] In September 2009, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and ECOWAS Commission Vice President Jean de Dieu Somda signed an Israel–ECOWAS agreement in Abuja covering cooperation in education, agriculture, culture, and economic relations.[12] A related agreement with MASHAV, Israel's Center for International Cooperation, provided for joint projects focused on poverty reduction and environmental protection, including agriculture, water resources, rural development, and desertification.[12] Liberman's visit to Nigeria that month was part of a five-country African visit accompanied by a business delegation that included representatives working in security exports.[4]

Presidential diplomacy between the two countries intensified under Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan became the first sitting Nigerian president to visit Israel in 2013; during his meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres, both leaders affirmed a commitment to stopping the spread of terrorism, and Jonathan expressed support for Peres's efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[1] Jonathan returned to Israel in October 2014 accompanied by Nigerian officials and religious leaders, reportedly to attend a mass with 3,000 Nigerian pilgrims in Jerusalem.[13] Earlier that year, following the abduction of three Israeli teenagers, Jonathan wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn the kidnapping, stating that "any act of terrorism against any nation or group is an act against our common humanity."[1]

Nigeria's December 2014 abstention on a Jordanian-sponsored UN Security Council draft resolution concerning territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war drew significant attention. The draft received eight votes in favor, two against, and five abstentions, falling short of the nine votes required for adoption.[1] Nigerian officials had previously indicated support for similar Palestinian statehood measures, and the decision to abstain came late in the process.[1] Israeli officials viewed the abstention as pivotal and credited it in part to closer bilateral relations and shared counterterrorism interests.[14]

In April 2015, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin declared that "Israel stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Nigeria," specifically invoking concerns about Boko Haram and a reported Boko Haram–ISIS alliance.[1] Diplomatic engagement continued in subsequent years. At an Israeli Independence Day reception in Abuja in May 2023, more than 700 people attended—including Nigerian government ministers, more than 30 senators, governors, and senior religious leaders—and an exhibition showcased Israeli technologies in agriculture, security, cyber, and entrepreneurship.[15]

In August 2025, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited Nigeria for three days of talks aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, visiting an Israeli innovation center in Abuja and meeting Christian leaders; Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu identified innovation and sustainable development as shared priorities.[16] On August 3, 2026, Nigeria's ambassador to Israel, Nkechi Linda Ufochukwu, presented her credentials to President Isaac Herzog, who suggested Nigeria might also help improve Israel's relations with other African states.[17]

Commercial ties between Israel and Nigeria date to the 1960s and have grown into one of the more substantial bilateral economic relationships Israel maintains in sub-Saharan Africa. The Israel–Africa Chamber of Commerce maintained a bilateral agreement with the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, under which the two sides organized reciprocal business delegations, exhibitions, joint lectures, and other activities.[18] The Nigerian-Israeli Chamber of Commerce served a parallel promotional function.[1]

By 2007, Israeli exports to Nigeria totaled $205 million, with 412 Israeli exporters registered in the country—a 1% increase from the previous year.[18] Nigerian imports into Israel that year were valued at a comparatively modest $200,000.[18] Over an unspecified period, Nigeria imported an average of $300.4 million in Israeli goods annually and was consistently among the top 20 importers of Israeli goods.[1] More than 50 Israeli companies invested in Nigerian construction, infrastructure, technology, communications and information technology, agriculture, and water management.[1]

Israeli construction and infrastructure firms established particularly deep roots in Nigeria. Solel Boneh Overseas, later Solel Boneh International, was identified as the third-largest player in Nigeria's real-estate and infrastructure sector.[19] Shikun u'Binui's Nigerian activity was especially significant: Nigeria accounted for 15% of the company's 2007 revenue of NIS 4.5 billion, and its African projects represented 40% of its NIS 7 billion orders backlog at year-end.[19] Ashtrom International operated in Nigeria from 1978 through its subsidiary J.D.P., building hotels, universities, banks, and public buildings.[18] The Israeli presence in Nigeria's construction sector was originally linked in part to Israel's efforts to strengthen political ties with mineral-rich African countries, though it evolved into commercially driven activity.[19]

The technology and telecommunications sectors saw significant Israeli engagement as well. A 2008 estimate put the number of serious Israeli companies operating in Nigeria at around 100, alongside Israelis who owned local companies or worked independently.[18] Motorola Israel had operated in Nigeria for close to 40 years through distributors supplying communications systems to government bodies and large companies, with annual business volume of approximately $20 million.[18] Gilat supplied a satellite transmission network for Nigeria's election system under a $30 million contract, and Israeli company Itwork signed a $25 million contract with the Central Bank of Nigeria—both deals concluded around 2007.[18] Alvarion announced plans to provide broadband services in Nigerian districts through Monarch Communications.[18]

Electra acquired Nigerian electro-mechanical company OTS in mid-2007. OTS had operated in Nigeria for decades and had a $32 million orders backlog at acquisition, and Electra provided it with engineering expertise, modern work procedures, and financial support to help it bid for larger projects.[19]

Smaller-scale Israeli exporters also found a market in Nigeria. Israeli fish-feed manufacturer Raanan Barzek exported products from Acre to Nigerian customers through Balton C.P., with annual exports of approximately €2.5 million; the company's representative visited Nigeria quarterly to conduct seminars for fish farmers.[18] Cosmetics company Anna Lotan sold to a Lagos-based distributor, reporting annual exports of around $40,000.[18]

A 2001 report described Nigeria's attraction for Israeli businesses as centered on its natural resources, particularly oil, with Israeli activity concentrated in infrastructure, construction, water, roads, agriculture, and telecommunications.[20] Reporting from 2008 noted that the Nigerian market offered substantial commercial potential alongside significant risks—including insecurity, corruption, poverty, bureaucracy, and political volatility—and was considered suitable mainly for businesses with relevant experience operating at that level of risk.[18]

Tourism also contributed to the bilateral economic relationship. In 2016, 84,000 Nigerian tourists visited Israel.[1] Around 30,000 Nigerian pilgrims traveled to Israel annually as of 2014.[13] The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission handled logistics for approximately 20,000 annual pilgrims to Jerusalem and Rome, and the Nigerian federal government negotiated air-service agreements with Israel to support pilgrimage travel.[21]

Israel and Nigeria have increasingly engaged across the technology and innovation sectors. At the May 2023 Independence Day reception in Abuja, the Israeli embassy's iFair entrepreneurial and innovation initiative was highlighted alongside an exhibition of Israeli technologies in agriculture, security, cyber, and entrepreneurship, with attendees receiving vegetables grown in Nigeria using Israeli agricultural technology.[15] Nigeria has shown particular interest in Israeli entrepreneurial innovations and technologies.[22]

A 2021 visit to Israel by Nigerian entrepreneur Iyinoluwa Aboyeji illustrated the growing interest in technology-sector collaboration. Aboyeji spent two weeks experiencing Israel's startup ecosystem and described shared characteristics between Nigeria and Israel—young populations confronting large-scale societal problems—while arguing that Nigerian entrepreneurs could deploy Israeli technologies for transformational rather than merely incremental impact.[23] He noted that Nigeria's technology sector had grown from a small industry with only a few thousand workers when he returned there in 2013 to one attracting $1.4 billion in investment and employing tens of thousands by 2021.[23]

The most consequential technology agreement reported in the bilateral relationship came in August 2026, when Nigeria's national satellite operator NIGCOMSAT was expected to purchase communications satellites from Israel Aerospace Industries and France's Thales under separate agreements with a combined estimated value of around $2 billion.[24] Nigeria's Federal Executive Council had approved procurement and deployment; IAI's NigComSat-2A was scheduled for launch in 2028, while the Thales satellite NigComSat-2B was reportedly scheduled for 2029.[24] NIGCOMSAT managing director Jane Egerton-Idehen described the approval as a milestone and said the planned satellites would expand broadband connectivity, support key economic sectors, and help Nigeria become a more significant player in Africa's digital and space economy.[24] Nigeria had not disclosed the agreements' value publicly, and IAI did not comment on reports about the prospective deal.[24]

Direct air connectivity was also on the bilateral agenda. During President Goodluck Jonathan's earlier visit to Israel, he signed an aviation agreement intended to enable direct flights between the two countries.[13] In March 2023, Israel's transport minister approved a deal for direct flights between Tel Aviv and Lagos and Abuja, with Nigerian airline Air Peace expected to operate twice-weekly services pending final Israeli cabinet approval.[5] Separately, the American Jewish Committee reported that El Al commenced flights to West Africa in January 2023, serving Abuja and Lagos.[25]

Security ties have formed a consistent, if often opaque, strand of the Israel–Nigeria relationship. Israel's Defense Ministry began efforts to enter Nigeria's weapons market in 1961, and Nigeria subsequently became a significant recipient of Israeli defense equipment.[4] An INSS analysis, citing SIPRI data and Wezeman (2011), identifies Nigeria as Africa's leading importer of Israeli weapons in the period covered and states that Nigeria accounted for almost 50% of Israel's security exports to sub-Saharan Africa.[4] Nigeria is listed among African countries supplied with various types of large Israeli weapons between 2006 and 2010.[4] The analysis notes that publicly available arms-transfer figures are estimates, that official Israeli data generally do not identify weapon types or destination countries, and that UN reporting excludes light-weapons deals.[4]

Israel's security expertise was regarded as directly relevant to Nigeria's struggle with radical Islamist groups. One concrete form of cooperation was Israeli training of the Nigerian navy.[4] An indirect link also ran through Cameroon: the Cameroonian army had been trained by Israeli military advisers and used basic equipment of Israeli manufacture, after which Cameroonian forces cooperated with Nigerian armed forces in counterterrorism operations.[4]

In February 2015, a Nigerian government spokesperson publicly described Israel as an ally in Nigeria's fight against Boko Haram, citing Israel's experience confronting terrorism.[26] The following month, Israeli President Rivlin expressed solidarity, calling out the reported Boko Haram–ISIS alliance as a shared concern.[1] On September 2, 2019, the Nigerian government announced a partnership with Israel specifically to address the Boko Haram insurgency.[1] A related agreement between the Galilee International Management Institute and Michael and Cecilia Ibru University was intended to allow Nigerian students to undertake courses in agriculture, water management, health management, computer science, education, and national security; the institute had worked with Nigerian organizations for 30 years and had approximately 2,300 alumni.[1]

In April 2013, Elbit Systems received a reported $40 million contract from the Nigerian government to install its Wise Intelligence telecommunications-surveillance system, described as enabling monitoring of internet activity in Nigeria.[1] The contract drew backlash from human-rights activists concerned about its privacy implications.[1] Aeronautics Defense Systems won a reported $260 million project in 2006 to supply unmanned aerial vehicle systems to Nigeria, though the transaction was subsequently frozen.[18] Israeli defense exports to Africa were described as low relative to other regions, partly because of limited African demand for the high-technology systems that constituted Israel's primary export category.[18] All defense transactions required permits under Israeli and international law, and Israel's Defense Ministry did not disclose transaction details.[18]

In August 2025, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel's visit to Nigeria included discussions touching on security cooperation, with innovation and sustainable development identified as complementary frameworks for the relationship.[16] The cooperative security dynamic received a human dimension in April 2025, when an Israeli national working in northeastern Nigeria was kidnapped in Taraba State and rescued within 24 hours by Nigerian military forces coordinating with Israel's Foreign Ministry.[1]

Agricultural and development cooperation has been a consistent feature of the relationship since its founding. From the earliest years of Nigerian independence, Israeli experts supported Nigerian agricultural modernization and sustainable farming techniques, alongside contributions to the country's education, medical, and technology sectors.[1]

In March 2014, Israeli Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir and his Nigerian counterpart signed an agriculture cooperation agreement focused on bolstering food security.[27] The September 2009 Israel–ECOWAS agreement, signed in Abuja, included provisions for joint projects on poverty reduction, environmental protection, agriculture, water resources, rural development, and desertification through MASHAV.[12] The Galilee International Management Institute's long-running partnership with Nigerian institutions—spanning 30 years and producing approximately 2,300 alumni—also included agricultural and water-management components.[1]

At the 2023 Israeli Independence Day reception in Abuja, the embassy distributed vegetables grown in Nigeria using Israeli agricultural technology and Israeli seedlings, offering a visible demonstration of applied cooperation.[15] At a 2023 conference, Nigerian academic Prof. Antonia Taiye Simbine argued that Israel could do more with Nigeria, proposing agriculture and energy as areas for expanded partnership and presenting such cooperation as a means of strengthening the relationship and helping address the cycle of counterinsurgency.[28]

Nigeria's large and diverse religious population has shaped both the texture and the politics of its relationship with Israel. The Library of Congress country study identifies Nigeria's ethnic and religious mix as a reason for caution on issues involving Israel, noting the country's general orientation toward the West alongside a nonaligned posture and its treatment of African issues as a cornerstone of its foreign policy.[10]

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land has been a significant practical link. The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission managed logistics for approximately 20,000 annual pilgrims to Jerusalem and Rome, and the Nigerian federal government negotiated air-service agreements with Israel to support this travel.[21] By 2014, approximately 30,000 Nigerian pilgrims were traveling to Israel annually.[13] In 2016, 84,000 Nigerian tourists visited Israel.[1]

Christian communities in Nigeria, particularly in the south, have generally expressed sympathy for Israel. During the 2023 Israel–Hamas conflict, the Christian Association of Nigeria recognized Israel's right to self-defense while emphasizing proportionality and the avoidance of civilian harm.[29] Muslim organizations, by contrast, protested in solidarity with Palestinians and called for a review of bilateral relations with Israel.[29] A 2007 Pew survey cited by INSS found sympathy for Palestinians significantly higher in Nigeria than in several other African countries surveyed.[2] President Bola Tinubu called for a ceasefire and peaceful resolution through dialogue, and Nigeria's Senate urged the administration to support an end to the conflict and press for a two-state solution in early November 2023.[29]

Nigeria's votes at the United Nations on Israel-related resolutions have reflected the country's balancing act between its Muslim and Christian populations, its relationship with Arab states, and its bilateral ties with Israel.

In December 2014, Nigeria abstained on a Jordanian-sponsored UN Security Council draft resolution concerning territories Israel captured in the 1967 war, even though Nigerian officials had previously indicated support for similar Palestinian statehood measures.[1] The draft fell short of adoption, receiving eight votes in favor, two against, and five abstentions rather than the nine required.[1] Israeli officials credited closer bilateral relations and shared counterterrorism interests for Nigeria's position, with reporting attributing particular significance to a phone call from Prime Minister Netanyahu to President Jonathan—though this account was presented by a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry source rather than as independently established causation.[14]

In October 2023, Nigeria voted for a Western-sponsored UN amendment condemning Hamas; however, on a comparable amendment in December 2023, Nigeria opposed it.[2] Both amendments failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required for passage.[2] No official Nigerian government explanation for the change in position between October and December was reported.

Nigeria's scale and regional role give the relationship importance beyond bilateral commerce. Israeli policymakers have long regarded Nigeria as a central African actor, while Nigerian interest has extended to Israeli agriculture, water, entrepreneurial technology, and security expertise.[4][22]

The relationship also carries diplomatic significance. Nigeria's 2014 Security Council abstention was viewed by Israeli officials as pivotal, while the 2023 shifts in Nigeria's votes on amendments condemning Hamas showed that close bilateral ties do not produce a fixed voting alignment.[14][2]

Several aspects of the Israel–Nigeria relationship rest on contested or incomplete information. The causes of Nigeria's 1973 severance of relations—attributed variously to oil-crisis pressure, Arab inducements, and OAU political dynamics—represent sources' accounts rather than an exhaustive historical record; the precise date and circumstances of the Nigeria-specific rupture are not fully established by the available documentation.

The scope of Israeli arms transfers to Nigeria is subject to inherent uncertainty: the near-50% share of Israeli security exports to sub-Saharan Africa attributed to Nigeria is a historical estimate drawn from SIPRI data and academic analysis, and Israel's official export data do not identify weapon types, destination countries, or third-party-brokered sales, while UN reporting excludes light-weapons transactions.

The 2013 Elbit surveillance contract drew significant criticism from human-rights organizations, which raised concerns about the implications of a system enabling monitoring of internet activity; the controversy reflected broader debates about the appropriate limits of security cooperation and the role of Israeli technology in surveillance markets.

Reporting on direct flights between Israel and Nigeria in 2023 produced conflicting accounts: the American Jewish Committee reported that El Al began serving Abuja and Lagos in January 2023, while a March 2023 report described a distinct arrangement for Nigerian airline Air Peace to begin twice-weekly direct flights pending final Israeli cabinet approval. These may represent separate agreements or differing accounts of the same process.

The account of Israeli arms to Biafran secessionists during the 1967–1970 civil war is drawn from a 1973 U.S. State Department research study and should be understood as a period government assessment rather than a definitively established historical record.