NIGERIA: US Asks American Business Executives To Be Wary Of Insecurity, Corruption And Detention Risk In Nigeria
The United States Department of State has identified insecurity, corruption, port delays and regulatory uncertainty as major barriers to investment in Nigeria, despite signs of improving macroeconomic stability.
In its 2026 Investment Climate Statements on Nigeria, the department said the country’s business environment reflected the effects of “painful but necessary” structural reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The report said fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange liberalisation initially caused significant economic volatility, although indicators in early 2026 suggested some stabilisation. Security risks, administrative bottlenecks and the social costs of those reforms nevertheless remained concerns for foreign investors. “The security environment is a primary variable which gives pause to potential investors,” it said.
Although attacks on oil infrastructure in the Niger Delta had declined, the report noted that oil theft and illegal bunkering continued. “In the North, the expansion of terrorist and ‘bandit’ groups continues to degrade the climate for agribusiness and mining,” it added.
The department also raised concerns about the treatment of foreign executives during regulatory disputes, citing the nearly eight-month detention of American Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan in 2024.
“Furthermore, the use of coercive exit bans and detentions, highlighted by the high-profile nearly eight-month detention in 2024 of U.S. citizen Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan, serves as a cautionary note for foreign executives regarding the risks of aggressive regulatory friction,” the report said.
It warned that such incidents could influence perceptions of Nigeria as an investment destination. The report identified seaport inefficiencies as another significant burden, particularly for businesses dependent on imports and exports. “Port inefficiency remains a significant ‘hidden tax’ on investment,” it said.
According to the department, Lekki Deep Seaport handled $9.6 billion in trade in 2025 while operating at 50 per cent capacity, easing pressure on older facilities. However, cargo dwell times at Apapa and Tin Can Island ports continued to exceed 20 days because of manual examinations. “To address this, the government launched phase one of the National Single Window (NSW) on March 27, 2026,” the report said.
The platform is intended to integrate agencies, including the Nigeria Customs Service, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, into a single digital workflow. The initiative aims to reduce cargo dwell times to fewer than seven days and eliminate 80 per cent of manual paperwork by the end of 2026.