Ayobamiji Komolafe 
Nigerian Army soldiers stand at a base in Baga on August 2, 2019. – Intense fighting between a regional force and the Islamic State group in West Africa (ISWAP) has resulted in dozens of deaths, including at least 25 soldiers and more than 40 jihadists, in northeastern Nigeria. ISWAP broke away from Boko Haram in 2016 in part due to its rejection of indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Last year the group witnessed a reported takeover by more hardline fighters who sidelined its leader and executed his deputy. The IS-affiliate has since July 2018 ratcheted up a campaign of attacks against military targets. (Photo by AUDU MARTE / AFP)
The United States has dispatched a “small team” of troops to Nigeria following recent security cooperation between both countries.
Dagvin Anderson, the general in charge of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), disclosed this during a press briefing on Tuesday.
This marks the first public acknowledgement of U.S. boots on the ground in Nigeria since the Donald Trump administration launched missile strikes targeting terrorists in Sokoto on Christmas Day.
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Anderson said the development followed his meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Rome late 2025.
“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, including a small U.S. team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Anderson said.
He did not provide further details, and it remains unclear when the team arrived in Nigeria.
Earlier, Allison Hooker, a U.S. under-secretary of state, led a delegation comprising officials from eight federal agencies to Abuja for a bilateral working group meeting with Nigerian security officials.
Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu led the Nigerian delegation.
The meeting followed the redesignation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) by the Trump administration.
Trump had previously threatened to send troops into Nigeria “guns blazing” to eliminate terrorists responsible for attacks on Christians.
On December 25, the United States launched airstrikes against two terrorist enclaves in the Bauni Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
