Nigeria and Ghana Lobby AU to Combat Afrophobia

The Government of Nigeria and the Government of Ghana agreed on July 18, 2026, to jointly lobby for the inclusion of Afrophobia on the agenda of the 2027 African Union Summit. The agreement was reached during bilateral talks between Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sola Enikanolaiye and Ghanaian Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the sidelines of the ECOWAS Mid-Year Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The partnership responds to a resurgence of xenophobic attacks against African migrants in South Africa, which the ministers described as a threat to Pan-Africanism and the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area. The violence has forced tens of thousands to flee, with nearly 150,000 people repatriated according to an AFP tally. Nigeria has evacuated 1,490 nationals, while Ghana has repatriated at least 926.

Both nations called for coordinated regional responses, early warning systems, and preventive diplomacy to protect migrants. They asserted that criminal allegations against individuals should be handled through legal processes rather than collective punishment. Separately, the officials discussed reparative justice regarding colonialism and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with Nigeria expressing support for Ghana's efforts at the United Nations and the hosting of the Next Steps High-Level Conference.