President Bola Tinubu on Thursday received the President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, at the State House in Abuja around 2 p.m.
The visit marks Déby’s first official trip to Nigeria since Tinubu attended his inauguration in N’Djamena on May 23, 2024. Déby, 42, assumed leadership of Chad after the death of his father, Idriss Déby Itno, who was killed by rebels on April 20, 2021, while commanding troops during the Northern Chad offensive.
Following his father’s death, the younger Déby was declared head of a Transitional Military Council and promised a transition to civilian rule within 18 months. He later extended the timeline, was sworn in as transitional president in October 2022, and subsequently won the presidential election in May 2024.
Thursday’s meeting comes barely a week after Tinubu hosted Terrance Drew on March 26, 2026, making Déby the second foreign leader received by the Nigerian president within one week.
Although details of the closed-door talks were not immediately disclosed, sources indicated that discussions were likely to centre on regional security, particularly efforts to combat terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin shared by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
Chad has remained a key partner in Nigeria’s fight against insurgent groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, operating within the Lake Chad region.
The meeting also comes amid Chad’s repositioning within the regional security architecture following its withdrawal from French military agreements in November 2024, alongside the exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the G5 Sahel and Economic Community of West African States.
Nigeria and Chad share longstanding historical, cultural, and economic ties, including cross-border trade and joint security operations. The Lake Chad Basin has faced insurgency for more than a decade, with militant groups carrying out attacks across Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
As of the time of filing this report, the meeting between Tinubu and Déby was still ongoing.
