Anti- Terror Agreement: US Deploys Troops To Nigeria

The United States has deployed troops to Nigerian following the anti- terror agreement with the Federal Government as a result of terrorist activities in the northwest, northeast and northcentral regions of Nigeria.

Commander of the U.S -Africa Command, AFRICOM, Gen. Dagvin Anderson, who made this known revealed that the deployment is the result of a strategic agreement with Nigerian authorities aimed at intensifying the offensive against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP.

Anderson described the team as “unique,” even as he declined to provide specific details regarding the number of troops or their precise operational roles.

The Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, also, confirmed the American presence, noting that it signaled the deepening of bilateral security ties between the two countries. According to a former U.S. official familiar with the mission, the team is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering and providing technical support to Nigerian troops rather than direct combat.

The Northwest Nigeria remains the focal point of a brutal 17-year insurgency, even as joint operations in the region are already yielding results; with the recent precision strike in Sokoto State, which reportedly neutralized high-ranking ISIS militants as an example.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced concerns over the security situation in Nigeria, where he emphasized that Christianity faces an “existential threat.” 

Trump has been a vocal critic of the Federal Government’s past handling of the crisis, urging more decisive action to protect vulnerable and persecuted communities.

The presence of U.S. troops is therefore seen by analysts as both a tactical boost for the Nigerian troops and a response to international pressure to stabilize the Sahel and Lake Chad regions.