Nigeria’s financial markets came under pressure on Monday after United States President Donald Trump threatened to invade the country to “root out terrorists” allegedly responsible for killing Christians.
The shock remarks rattled investor confidence, triggering a sell-off across stocks, bonds, and the naira, as markets priced in rising geopolitical risks.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the All-Share Index fell by 0.25 percent, closing at 153,739.11 points, compared with 154,126.46 points recorded on Friday. Market capitalisation also dropped by ₦247 billion, from ₦97.829 trillion to ₦97.582 trillion, reversing part of the gains recorded last week.
The decline dragged the market’s year-to-date return to +49.37 percent.
The downturn followed Trump’s weekend remarks in which he designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” and threatened to halt 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 his official X account, heightened fears among investors that Washington could impose sanctions or take aggressive policy steps against Africa’s largest economy.
Before the shock development, analysts had expected a bullish start to November. Futureview Research had projected a rebound in equities driven by renewed interest in undervalued stocks, strong Q3 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 sentiments were swiftly overshadowed by the political risk triggered by Trump’s remarks.
Nigeria’s dollar-denominated bonds were also caught in the crossfire, with broad sell-offs across all 12 issues. The FGN Eurobond 2047 recorded the steepest fall, dropping 0.6 cents to 88.26 cents on the dollar.
According to Bloomberg data, Nigerian Eurobonds made up all 10 of the worst performers among emerging market peers as of 10:45 a.m. in Lagos.
This reversed last week’s mild recovery when the average Eurobond yield had eased by 14 basis points to 7.49 percent from 7.63 percent.
The naira also lost ground against the U.S. dollar at the official market, sliding 1 percent to ₦1,436.34/$, compared to ₦1,421.73/$ on Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
At 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 Nigeria’s external reserves at $43.19 billion as of October 31, 2025.
Foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) slowed to $1.04 billion from $1.37 billion, according to a report by Coronation Merchant Bank. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) accounted for 62.3 percent of total inflows, followed by exporters (15 percent), corporates (11.6 percent), foreign direct investments (1.9 percent), and others (9.2 percent).
