Foreign Investors Buy $3.3bn Nigerian Bonds in Q1 2026

In the first quarter of 2026, foreign investors acquired $3.3 billion in Nigerian bonds, marking a significant 267.67% increase compared to $877.41 million in the same period of 2025. This bond investment accounted for 32.71% of total portfolio investments, which reached $9.86 billion.

The overall capital import for Nigeria rose to $10.37 billion, an 83.83% increase from the previous year. The Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, has implemented aggressive monetary tightening, raising the monetary policy rate to 27.50% to curb inflation and stabilize the naira.

Despite a subdued equity investment of $131.81 million, the bond market showed robust growth, driven by investor preference for fixed-income instruments. The banking sector attracted the largest share of capital inflow at $7.55 billion, with the United Kingdom being the largest source of capital import at $5.08 billion.