The United States has reportedly deployed about 200 troops to Nigeria to help train the country’s military in its fight against Islamist insurgents.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the deployment is aimed at boosting Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts through specialised training and operational support. The report added that the new troops will also support a small number of US military advisers already in the country, who assist Nigerian forces mainly with intelligence gathering and identifying targets for military strikes.
The move is coming weeks after US President Donald Trump accused Nigeria of not doing enough to protect Christians from terrorist attacks.
Confirming closer cooperation between both countries, the Commander of the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), Gen Dagvin R. Anderson, said Nigeria and the US had agreed to strengthen their partnership after recent high-level discussions.
“I was able to meet President Tinubu. We were able to share some thoughts and agree that we needed to work together on a way forward in the region,” Anderson said.
He explained that the discussions had resulted in increased collaboration, including the deployment of a small US team to provide support and capabilities to complement Nigeria’s ongoing security operations.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters has clarified that the partnership with the US is strictly for capacity building and not combat missions.
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In a statement, the Director of Defence Information, Maj Gen Samaila Uba, said the relationship between both countries includes military training, intelligence sharing, logistics support, and strategic security dialogue, all carried out with full respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty.
The clarification came after public speculation about the presence of American troops in the country.
The development also follows President Bola Tinubu’s meeting with a high-level US delegation led by Gen Anderson at the State House in Abuja. The delegation also included the Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Nigeria, Keith Heffern.
The meeting reportedly focused on strengthening defence cooperation and addressing regional security challenges.
