U.S. Confirms Deployment of Military Team to Nigeria Amid Rising Insecurity

T The United States has confirmed the deployment of a small team of military personnel to Nigeria, marking the first official acknowledgment that U.S. forces are on the ground in the country as insecurity worsens across West Africa.

The confirmation was made by General Dagvin R. M. Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM), who said the deployment followed his meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome late last year. Anderson explained that both countries agreed more needed to be done to counter the growing terrorist threat in the region.

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, to include a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson told journalists during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Although the exact date of the team’s arrival was not disclosed, the U.S. personnel are expected to provide specialised support in intelligence and operational planning to assist Nigerian forces in their fight against extremist groups.

The deployment comes months after U.S. airstrikes carried out on December 25 last year against an Islamic State-affiliated group, underscoring Washington’s renewed security engagement in West Africa and its support for Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts.