The United States has deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria, a West African country that has battled years of insurgency, in what is being described as the first official United States military presence on Nigerian soil since airstrikes hit suspected terrorist positions on Thursday, 25 December 2025.
The deployment comes after United States President Donald Trump, the head of the United States government, ordered airstrikes in December 2025 on targets he said were linked to the Islamic State, a global extremist movement with affiliates in several regions. Trump also signalled at the time that more United States military action in Nigeria could follow.
Okay News reports that the United States had carried out surveillance flights over Nigeria from neighbouring Ghana, a West African country on the Gulf of Guinea, from at least late November 2025, providing intelligence support ahead of the December strikes.
The troop deployment is linked to an understanding between the Federal Government of Nigeria, the national government based in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and Washington, the capital of the United States, as both sides move to strengthen cooperation against the growing terrorist threat across West Africa.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, 3 February 2026, the head of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), the United States military command responsible for American operations and partnerships in Africa, General Dagvin R. M. Anderson, said closer cooperation between both countries had expanded in recent months. “That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small United States team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States,” he said.
General Anderson did not state how many personnel were deployed or what their exact duties would be, but he said the team would support Nigeria’s counterterrorism operations.
Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, also confirmed that the team is in the country, but he did not give further details.
Security sources said the United States personnel are likely involved in intelligence gathering and in helping Nigerian forces identify and target armed groups such as Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group based mainly in northeast Nigeria, and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), an Islamic State affiliate that operates around parts of Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.
Nigeria has faced pressure from the United States over how it handles terrorist attacks, especially after President Trump accused the Nigerian authorities of not doing enough to protect Christians in the northwest of the country. The Federal Government has rejected that claim.
Nigerian officials have maintained that military operations are aimed at all armed groups that attack civilians, regardless of religion, and that the government’s counterterrorism campaign is not directed at any faith community.
