After December strikes, US sends troops to Nigeria in security partnership

The United States military has confirmed the deployment of a small contingent of American troops to Nigeria, marking the first official acknowledgement of US forces operating on Nigerian soil since airstrikes carried out in December 2025.

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 the US and Nigerian governments to strengthen cooperation against terrorism and security threats in the region.

According to Reuters, Anderson described the team as providing “unique US capabilities,” but declined to disclose details regarding the size of the unit, its specific mission, or the scope of its operations.

Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, also confirmed the presence of US personnel in the country, though he did not provide further information.

The deployment comes weeks after US missile strikes on 25 December 2025, which President Donald Trump said targeted camps belonging to the Islamic State in North-east Nigeria. Both US and Nigerian authorities had described the strikes as successful.

However, in the aftermath of the operation, undetonated explosives believed to be remnants of the US strikes were reportedly discovered in civilian-populated areas of Kwara, Niger and Sokoto states, raising concerns about collateral risks.

The December airstrikes followed threats by President Trump to take military action against Nigeria after redesignating the country as a Country of Particular Concern, citing allegations of a “Christian genocide.”

The Nigerian government strongly rejected the claim, maintaining that victims of insurgency and banditry cut across religious lines, and warned that such narratives risked deepening ethnic and religious divisions. Abuja subsequently urged Washington to focus on supporting efforts to dismantle terror networks operating across the country.

Nigeria has been grappling with a protracted insurgency led by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), particularly in the North-east. Both groups have intensified attacks in recent months while seeking to expand their influence into the North-west and North-central regions, where banditry, communal violence and resource-based conflicts continue to destabilise communities.