U.S. Secretary of State in Nigeria, security, democracy on agenda

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, November 18, 2021. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS

ABUJA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Nigeria on Thursday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari, with domestic and regional security and West Africa's democratic backsliding among issues expected to be discussed.

Blinken's three-nation Africa trip started in Kenya, where he reiterated calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the Ethiopian conflict and appealed for a return to civilian democracy in Sudan after last month's coup.