US Confirms Troop Presence in Nigeria as Terror Threats Deepen
The United States military has confirmed the deployment of a “small team” of US forces to Nigeria, marking the first official acknowledgement of American troops operating on Nigerian soil since US airstrikes carried out in December.
The confirmation was made on Tuesday by Dagvin Anderson, head of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), who said the deployment followed a mutual agreement between Washington and Abuja to strengthen counterterrorism efforts in the region.
According to Reuters, General Anderson described the team as providing “unique US capabilities,” but declined to disclose details about the unit’s size, mission scope or operational locations.
Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, also confirmed the presence of US personnel, though he similarly offered no specifics on their activities.
Background to the deployment
The disclosure comes weeks after US airstrikes on 25 December 2025, which President Donald Trump said targeted Islamic State camps in North-east Nigeria. The strikes were described by US and Nigerian officials as successful.
However, PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that undetonated explosives believed to be remnants of the strikeswere later discovered in civilian areas across Kwara, Niger and Sokoto states, raising safety concerns.
The December strikes followed sharp rhetoric from President Trump, who had threatened to act “guns-a-blazing” after redesignating Nigeria as a country of particular concern, citing claims of “Christian genocide.” The Nigerian government rejected the narrative, insisting that people of all faiths are victims of insurgency and banditry, and urged the US to focus on dismantling terror networks rather than amplifying divisive claims.
Insecurity remains widespread
The US deployment comes amid Nigeria’s protracted security crisis, driven largely by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the North-east. Both groups have recently intensified attacks while attempting to expand operations into the North-west and North-central, regions already battling banditry, communal violence and resource-based conflicts.
Washington has also been conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria from Ghana, underscoring growing US security involvement in the country.
While officials on both sides have kept details of the troop deployment tightly guarded, the confirmation signals a deepening military cooperation between Nigeria and the United States as Abuja grapples with escalating insecurity across multiple fronts.
SOURCE : PREMIUM TIMES
