The United States has sent a small team of troops to Nigeria, the general in charge of the U.S. command for Africa (AFRICOM), General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, said on Tuesday.

The development is the first acknowledgment of U.S. forces on the ground since US airstrikes targeting terrorists in Nigeria’s North-West on Christmas Day, 2025.

US President, Donald Trump, who announced that he ordered the airstrikes on what he described as Islamic State targets, had said there could be more U.S. military action in the country.

According to Reuters, the U.S. had been conducting surveillance flights over the country from Ghana since at least late November.

Speaking on the decision to send troops to Nigeria, the top general said both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat in West Africa.

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States,” General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command AFRICOM, told journalists during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Anderson did not provide further details about the size and scope of their mission.

According to Reuters, Nigeria’s Defense Minister, Christopher Musa, confirmed that a team was working in Nigeria but did not provide further details.

A former U.S. official told Reuters that the U.S. team appeared to be heavily involved in intelligence gathering and enabling Nigerian forces to strike terrorist-affiliated groups.

Nigeria has come under intense pressure by Washington to act after President Trump accused the West African nation of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.

The Nigerian government denies any systematic persecution of Christians, saying it is targeting Islamist fighters and other armed groups that attack both Christian and Muslim civilians.

Nigeria’s digital transformation continued to gain momentum as Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Globacom (Glo) reinforced a powerful partnership built on transparency, long-term investment, and consumer trust.

Through its Industry Performance Reports, developed with global network intelligence firm, Ookla under the QoS/QoE Crowdsourcing Project, NCC is setting a new benchmark for accountability in the telecoms sector.

The quarterly, data-driven reports provide independent insights into network performance, coverage and real-world user experience across operators, states and regions.

A senior NCC official described the initiative as “sunlight and substance”, stating that it enables Nigerians to see clearly how networks perform so that excellence is rewarded and complacency is exposed.

Within this rigorously lit landscape, Globacom has emerged as a standout performer. Its leadership position is anchored in decades of sustained investment, patient capital, and continuous modernisation.

From pioneering one of the largest fibre-optic backbones in the country to upgrading radio access and core networks, Glo has consistently treated infrastructure as a long-term covenant with Nigeria’s future.

A member of Glo’s executive leadership summarised the company’s philosophy, thus, “We invest as if Nigeria’s tomorrow depends on what we build today—because it does. Our goal is not to be loud, but to be lasting.”

NCC–Ookla analytics now validate what many subscribers already experience: Glo’s network is engineered for substance, not spectacle.

With strong fibre-to-site architecture, resilient backhaul and intelligent traffic management, Glo delivers stable speeds, lower latency and dependable service in real-world conditions.

The commission’s focus on Connectivity on the Move highlights performance along major road corridors—critical arteries of commerce and social life. Here, Glo’s dense fibre footprint and redundant routes ensure fewer call drops, faster data sessions and reliable streaming for Nigerians on the move.

On the Urban vs Rural Divide, Glo’s strategy of extending fibre closer to base stations and modernising legacy sites is narrowing performance gaps between metropolitan and underserved areas.

Where signals once faltered, connectivity now flows with confidence.

Glo’s measured approach to next-generation technology is equally notable. NCC’s 5G Reality Check compares coverage with actual usage and experience. By prioritising strong 4G foundations and fibre-fed sites, Glo is ensuring that future 5G deployment is credible, inclusive and sustainable.

The reports also examine how networks affect battery life and device temperature. Here again, Glo’s optimisation protocols and modernised core architecture stand out, reducing unnecessary signalling and improving everyday user comfort.

For consumers, the impact is tangible. A small-business owner in Ibadan, Segun Adeleye, stated, “My work runs on data. With Glo, I just connect and go. That confidence is everything.”

With the NCC providing the tools for transparency and Glo delivering on long-term leadership and investment, Nigeria’s telecoms industry is entering a new era—one defined not by promises, but by performance.

Regulation is the lighthouse; leadership is the ship. And together, NCC and Glo are steering Nigeria towards a faster, fairer and more connected future.

ThisDay

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, has explained the reason the Nigerian leader stumbled in Turkey.

Onanuga, while addressing enquiries on Tuesday, said Tinubu lost balance in Turkey because he stepped on a metal object.

“The President stepped on a metal on the floor, which made him lose his balance,” Onanuga said.

The incident happened when the Nigerian leader was walking alongside his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Erdogan, in Ankara, capital of Turkey, on Tuesday.

Prior to the incident, Tinubu inspected a parade as part of a state reception.

A review of the video of the incident showed that the president went down after a camera man moved his tripod stand close to him.

But Onanuga said the President merely stepped on an object, resulting in a minor loss of balance.

“This is not a big deal, except for those who want to make mischief out of a fleeting incident. It was a mere stumble, thank God, not a fall,” he said.

Sources within the Presidency explained that the stumble was purely accidental and unrelated to the President’s health.

Tinubu’s aide on on social media, Dada Olusegun on Tuesday, said the President continued his engagements as scheduled after the incident.

Olusegun stated that Tinubu was part of a joint press conference with the Turkish leader immediately after a bilateral meeting.

Similarly, Tinubu’s aide on public communication, Sunday Dare, said the President was in good shape and fully engaged in official activities.

“President Tinubu, after a stately welcome ceremony in Ankara, proceeded to scheduled bilateral meetings with the President of Türkiye and other senior government officials from both countries,” Dare said.

“No injury was recorded, and the President went on to participate fully in the rest of the scheduled programme.”

Reacting to public speculation, the Presidency reportedly said there was “no cause for alarm,” stressing that Tinubu remains hale and hearty.

Tinubu is in Türkiye as part of Nigeria’s ongoing diplomatic engagements aimed at strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in trade, investment, defence cooperation and infrastructure development.

“The visit is aimed at strengthening the existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation,” Onanuga said in a statement on Sunday.

“It also reciprocates an earlier state visit to Nigeria by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from October 19 to 20, 2021.”

The visit will feature a business forum bringing together investors from both countries to explore areas of interest