US Confirms Withdrawal Of Troops From Nigeria
The United States has confirmed the withdrawal of majority of its military personnel deployed to Nigeria for joint counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin.
The United States has confirmed the withdrawal of majority of its military personnel deployed to Nigeria for joint counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin.
The US will however, continue to maintain intelligence sharing and other security cooperation with Nigerian authorities, according the
Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson.
Anderson announced the development during a virtual press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026, noting that the partnership between Washington and Abuja remained active, particularly in intelligence operations targeting the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh).
The US commander stressed that, the specific mission that required the deployment of US troops has been completed, prompting the withdrawal of most of the personnel.
According to Anderson, however, the United States would continue providing intelligence assistance at the request of the Nigerian government.
His words, “And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network.
“And so — and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks.
“I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country — it’s got a strong economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable military.
“But there are things that we have learned in the counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media, and their recruiting.
The US commander stressed that, the specific mission that required the deployment of US troops has been completed, prompting the withdrawal of most of the personnel.
According to Anderson, however, the United States would continue providing intelligence assistance at the request of the Nigerian government.
His words, “And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network.
“And so — and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks.
“I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country — it’s got a strong economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable military.
“But there are things that we have learned in the counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media, and their recruiting.
“So I think as we go forward, that is an example of how we’re looking at engaging with partners to help them be more effective by only bringing unique U.S. capabilities that allow the partner to be effective in these fights.
“I was able to coordinate through our interagency in the United States, through AFRICOM, and then notify some of the partners. And eventually it was a Spanish ship that interdicted the ship that had 31 tons of cocaine on it, and it turns out is the largest interdiction of drugs at sea that we’ve ever seen.”
The US Air Force commander described Nigeria as a key regional partner with a capable military, saying the collaboration between both nations had produced notable gains in the fight against ISIS.
He, also, credited intelligence cooperation between the two countries for enabling an operation that eliminated the second-highest-ranking figure in the global ISIS network.
Anderson said the operation underscored the effectiveness of intelligence collaboration over prolonged foreign troop deployments.
The US Air Force commander described Nigeria as a key regional partner with a capable military, saying the collaboration between both nations had produced notable gains in the fight against ISIS.
He, also, credited intelligence cooperation between the two countries for enabling an operation that eliminated the second-highest-ranking figure in the global ISIS network.
Anderson said the operation underscored the effectiveness of intelligence collaboration over prolonged foreign troop deployments.
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