The United States military has confirmed the deployment of a small contingent of troops to Nigeria as part of strengthened counter-terrorism cooperation between Washington and Abuja, marking a significant escalation in bilateral security engagement.
The confirmation was made by General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), who said Nigeria and the United States had agreed on the need for closer military collaboration to confront terrorism and related security threats. Anderson disclosed the development on Tuesday, according to a report by Reuters.
While declining to reveal the size or precise mission of the deployed force, Anderson described it as a “small US team” bringing “unique capabilities” to support Nigerian counter-terrorism operations. He said the enhanced cooperation had grown out of sustained discussions between both countries’ defence establishments.
The deployment follows airstrikes ordered in December by US President Donald Trump, who said the strikes targeted Islamic State elements operating in Nigeria and warned that further US military action could follow if security conditions deteriorate.
Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, separately confirmed that US forces are currently operating within the country but declined to provide additional operational details.
Before the deployment, the United States had been conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights over Nigeria from Ghana since at least late November. The presence of US troops on Nigerian soil represents the first official acknowledgment of such a deployment since the December airstrikes, which came after months of Abuja permitting US intelligence flights over its territory—an indication of deepening security cooperation.
US officials said the deployed team is focused primarily on intelligence gathering and providing support to Nigerian forces battling terrorist-linked groups across the country.
The development comes amid mounting pressure from Washington, with Trump previously accusing Nigeria of failing to protect Christian communities from Islamist militants, particularly in the northwest. Nigerian authorities have rejected allegations of systematic persecution, insisting that security operations target armed groups attacking both Christian and Muslim civilians.
Militant groups including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have intensified attacks on military convoys and civilian targets, even as the northwest remains a focal point of Nigeria’s 17-year Islamist insurgency.
AFRICOM said a recent US strike carried out in Sokoto State, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, killed multiple Islamic State militants. The strike followed repeated warnings by Trump from late October that Christianity faces what he described as an “existential threat” in Nigeria, coupled with threats of US military intervention over continued violence against Christian communities.