Nigeria’s financial markets came under pressure on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened to invade the country to “root out terrorists” allegedly responsible for killing Christians.
The shocking comments shook investor confidence, triggering a sell-off in stocks, bonds and naira, as markets priced in the rising geopolitical risks.
Data from Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the All-Share Index fell by 0.25 percent, closing at 153,739.11 points, compared to 154,126.46 points recorded on Friday. Market capitalization also fell by 247 billion pounds, from 97.829 billion pounds to 97.582 billion pounds, reversing some of the gains recorded last week.
The decline dragged the market’s year-to-date performance to +49.37 percent.
The crisis followed Trump’s comments over the weekend in which he designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” and threatened to suspend US aid while ordering the Pentagon to “prepare for possible action” to stop what he described as a “Christian genocide” in the country.
The statement, posted on its official X account, raised fears among investors that Washington could impose sanctions or take aggressive political measures against Africa’s largest economy.
Before the shock, analysts had expected a bullish start to November. Futureview Research had projected a stock rally driven by renewed interest in undervalued stocks, strong third-quarter earnings expectations and improving liquidity.
Similarly, Coronation Research had forecast a “mild bullish tone” supported by bargain hunting, while CardinalStone Research said it was “strategically aligning” its portfolio for post-earnings gains. Those feelings were quickly overshadowed by the political risk triggered by Trump’s comments.
Nigeria’s dollar-denominated bonds were also caught in the crossfire, with broad sell-offs across all 12 issues. The FGN 2047 Eurobond recorded the steepest decline, falling 0.6 cents to 88.26 cents on the dollar.
According to Bloomberg data, Nigerian Eurobonds were the 10 worst performers among emerging market peers at 10:45 a.m. in Lagos.
This reversed last week’s slight recovery, when the average Eurobond yield had fallen 14 basis points to 7.49 percent from 7.63 percent.
The naira also lost ground against the US dollar in the official market, falling 1 percent to ₦1,436.34/$, compared to ₦1,421.73/$ on Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In the parallel market, however, the local currency strengthened slightly, gaining ₦15 to close at ₦1,440/$, up from ₦1,455/$ the previous day.
The CBN’s latest update showed that Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $43.19 billion as of October 31, 2025.
Foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) slowed from $1.37 billion to $1.04 billion, according to a report by Coronation Merchant Bank. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) accounted for 62.3 per cent of the total inflows, followed by exporters (15 per cent), corporates (11.6 per cent), foreign direct investments (1.9 per cent) and others (9.2 per cent).
Ayokunle Olubunmi, head of financial institutions ratings at Agusto & Co., said the sell-off reflected investors’ reaction to Trump’s unexpected comments.
“It’s not crazy because even in the bond market we saw a drop,” he said. “This is largely due to Trump’s pronouncement.”
Olubunmi, however, expressed optimism that markets would stabilize soon and described the former US president’s comments as part of his signature political style.
“The market will calm down because this is Trump’s style: he often makes strong statements that cause initial disruption, but things strengthen again when no real action is taken,” he added..