Did Nigeria suspend mineral deals with US?

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Rejoice Taddy

Claim: A Facebook user, @ Dabreezy Dreams Entertainment, shared a video alleging Nigeria suspended mineral deals with the United States in retaliation against its travel restrictions.

Verdict: False. There is no evidence that Nigeria has imposed a mineral blockade on the US. Official statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do not mention such action. 

Full Text

In June 2025, Washington released a statement that citizens from 36 countries will face visa restrictions if their government fails to comply with newly established requirements for the United States’ State Department within 60days

Among this list are Nigeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, and Ghana.

Others on the list are the Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

This means citizens of the affected countries could face significant difficulties when travelling to the US.

A Facebook user @ Dabreezy Dreams Entertainment shared a video explaining that Nigeria, in response to the US “Travel ban,” has retaliated by stopping mineral deals with the US.

The text attached to the 21-minute video reads: “Nigeria strikes back! Mineral blockade after US travel ban.”

The footage began with an excerpt from Firstpost Africa, a Durban-based news outlet that claims to deliver stories from around the world through an African perspective.

In the opening seconds, news anchor Alyson le Grange presented a report titled: “Nigeria warns the US could lose access to African minerals.”

The remainder of the video featured a male voice buttressing how Nigeria made a strategic move by restricting the US from having material access that is important to powering their economy.

As of Aug. 14, 2025, the video had 107,000 views, 3,500 likes, and 278 comments.

True to form, Nigerians in the comment section reacted with strong opinions on the matter.

@Eddie Nwadibia, for instance, remarked, “Yes, Trump’s policies will come back and bite him and the USA, because the world is changing with Russia, China, and North Korea venturing into Africa in full force. America will be on the losing side.”

Muhammad Yahaya stated, “Nigeria doesn’t have to respond until the  American government carries out its intentions, then it can back it up with a sanction action.”

“Once upon a time, there was an Industrial Revolution. Then there came a technological revolution. Now, we are in a political revolution. In all three, Africa has always lost. Without a good leader, Africa will be left behind in the political and technological revolution,” @Pastor Roland Ihaza wrote. 

@ Telema Okiyi, who seemed sceptical about the claim, replied: “I doubt this information. Is Nigeria ready? Has it pursued the terrorists in Maiduguri, Benue, and so on? There are many things to be done first, then second, then third, etc.”

Given the claim’s ambiguity and the fact that such an action by Nigeria would be a significant step, we sought to confirm its accuracy.

Verification

DUBAWA searched for reports from reputable news outlets on the alleged development, but found nothing.

Since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for giving feedback on topics like this on behalf of the Federal Government (FG), we searched through its official handles. We found a press release posted on its official X handle.

In the statement signed by Kimebi Ebienfa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, the FG described the policy as “unfair and disproportionate,” considering both countries’ longstanding cordial relations and strong people-to-people ties.

In the four-paragraph statement, we found that it did not contain any threat of a mineral blockade on the U.S., as claimed by @Dabreezy Dreams Entertainment.

We also reviewed the US Embassy’s official social media handles and found no related statement. Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the president’s office, nor the US embassy has commented on the alleged halted mineral deal, which, if real, would have been made public. 

Again, unlike the claim, which had no supporting coverage by other news platforms, we found reports here, here, and here detailing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response, and none of them mentioned a mineral blockade. 

Suspecting the clip featuring the broadcaster from FirstPostAfrica was manipulated, DUBAWA analysed the background voice in the video using Hiya deepfake detector. The result showed a score of 1 out of 100, meaning the voice is a deepfake.

A close look at the Facebook page that shared the claim reveals the page was first created in 2015. It claims to be managed by people based in Nigeria, but its address is “15 Barker Street, Bobalong, WA, Australia.” This raised suspicion, and it is not the first time DUBAWA has debunked false claims shared by this account. See samples here, here, and here, 

Conclusion

Evidence shows that Nigeria has not imposed a mineral blockade on the US as the Facebook user claimed. Also, the US government has only stated visa restrictions, not a ban.