United States Deploys Military Team to Nigeria Amid Escalating Terror Threat
The United States has confirmed the deployment of a small contingent of military personnel to Nigeria, marking the first official acknowledgment of American forces operating on the ground since U.S. airstrikes targeted suspected Islamic State positions late last year.
Speaking at a press briefing in Dakar on Tuesday, the head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, said the deployment followed joint discussions between Washington and Abuja on the need to intensify efforts against terrorism in West Africa.
“This has led to increased collaboration between our nations, including the presence of a small U.S. team that brings unique capabilities from the United States,” Anderson told journalists. He declined to provide details on the size of the team or the full scope of its mission.
The announcement comes weeks after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on what he described as Islamic State targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day, warning at the time that further U.S. military action could follow. AFRICOM later confirmed that the strike, carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities, took place in Sokoto State and resulted in the deaths of multiple ISIS-linked militants.
Reuters had previously reported that the United States had been conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria from neighbouring Ghana since at least late November, suggesting an expanding U.S. security footprint in the region even before the latest deployment was made public.
Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, confirmed that a U.S. team is currently operating in the country but, like AFRICOM, offered no additional details. A former U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the team appears to be primarily focused on intelligence gathering and providing support that enables Nigerian forces to carry out strikes against terrorist-affiliated groups.
The deployment unfolds against a backdrop of heightened diplomatic pressure from Washington. President Trump has repeatedly accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christian communities from Islamist militants, particularly in the country’s northwest. In late October, he warned that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and suggested the United States could intervene militarily if violence against Christians continues.
The Nigerian government has firmly rejected claims of religious persecution, insisting that its security operations target armed groups regardless of faith. Officials argue that Islamist militants, bandits, and criminal gangs routinely attack both Christian and Muslim civilians.
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Meanwhile, Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have stepped up assaults on military convoys and civilian targets. The northwest of the country remains the epicentre of a 17-year insurgency that continues to strain Nigeria’s security forces and destabilise large parts of the region.
With U.S. troops now confirmed on the ground, the latest developments signal a deepening security partnership between Washington and Abuja, as both countries confront a persistent and evolving terrorist threat across West Africa.
