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.
