The United States has deployed a “small team” of troops to Nigeria following enhanced security collaboration between the two nations.
General Dagvin Anderson, head of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), confirmed the development during a press briefing on Tuesday.
This marks the first public acknowledgment of US military presence in Nigeria since missile strikes were launched on terrorist targets in Sokoto during the Donald Trump presidency on Christmas Day.
Anderson noted that the deployment came after his meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome late last year. He said, “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.”
Further details about the size, mission, or timing of the team’s arrival in Nigeria were not disclosed.
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Earlier, Allison Hooker, US under-secretary of state, led a delegation from eight federal agencies to Abuja for a bilateral working group meeting with Nigerian security officials. The Nigerian team was headed by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The meeting was partly in response to the redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ (CPC) by Trump. During his tenure, Trump had warned of sending troops to Nigeria “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our Christians.”
On December 25, the US conducted air strikes targeting two terrorist enclaves in Bauni Forest, Tangaza LGA, Sokoto state.