The United States (US) has confirmed the deployment of a limited number of ground troops to Nigeria, in what appears to be the latest step in strengthening security cooperation between both countries.
The confirmation was made on Tuesday by Dagvin Anderson, the commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), during a press briefing.
This is the first public confirmation of US troops operating within Nigeria since the period when the Donald Trump administration carried out missile strikes against suspected terrorist targets in Sokoto State on Christmas Day.
According to Anderson, the renewed military engagement followed discussions he held with President Bola Tinubu in Rome late last year.
He explained that the talks helped deepen collaboration between the two nations, including the deployment of a small US team with specialised capabilities intended to support Nigeria’s ongoing security operations.
“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 said.
However, the AFRICOM commander did not reveal the size of the team, its specific mission, or when the personnel arrived in the country.
The latest development comes weeks after Allison Hooker, a US under-secretary of state, led a delegation involving eight federal agencies to Abuja for a bilateral working group meeting with Nigerian security officials.
Nigeria’s delegation at the meeting was led by Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA).
The meeting followed the redesignation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) by President Trump, a move that previously drew attention to security and religious freedom concerns.
Trump had earlier warned that the US could intervene militarily in Nigeria, vowing to eliminate terrorists responsible for attacks on Christians.
On December 25, the United States carried out air strikes on two terrorist locations within the Bauni forest in Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
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