Relationship dossier
Liberia
Nigeria
Relationship assessment
Nigeria’s regional peacekeeping and mediation played a major role in Liberia’s civil-war peace process.
Liberia toward Nigeria
+30Liberian authorities accepted the Nigerian-led ECOMOG intervention and engaged in the regional peace process that followed. The extent of Liberia’s separate bilateral cooperation with Nigeria is less clear.
Nigeria toward Liberia
+50Nigeria contributed substantially to Liberia’s conflict resolution through its leadership of ECOMOG and regional mediation. It also granted Charles Taylor refuge after his departure from Liberia, then transferred him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2006.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship has been shaped by Nigeria’s prominent role in Liberia’s civil-war intervention and peace process, alongside Liberia’s participation in regional efforts. Nigeria’s later handling of Charles Taylor was a consequential bilateral episode. The extent of routine cooperation beyond these security and political matters is unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Nigeria played a major role in Liberia’s civil-war peace process, including through the Nigerian-led ECOMOG intervention and mediation. Liberia accepted the regional peacekeeping role and participated in the resulting peace process. Nigeria later granted Charles Taylor refuge and transferred him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2006. These episodes indicate meaningful cooperation, particularly through Nigeria’s regional security role, though the breadth of routine bilateral cooperation is less clear.
Key developments
Nigeria-led ECOMOG forces intervened in Liberia during the civil war.
Nigeria transferred former Liberian president Charles Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of ongoing bilateral cooperation outside regional security and peace processes is unclear.
- Details of Liberia’s government-to-government engagement with Nigeria after the postwar transition are limited.