According to a U.S. defence official, the U.S. military is supporting Nigeria with 200 troops and several MQ-9 drones as it battles Islamist extremists in the country’s north.
The U.S. official stated that the Nigerians requested the drones to be used in conjunction with troops to gather intelligence. “We see this as a shared security threat,” he stated, referring to the 17-year insurgency inflicted on the country by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups.
The soldiers are not incorporated into Nigeria’s front-line battalions. Additionally, authorities from both nations stated that the drones are gathering intelligence rather than conducting attacks and that U.S. soldiers were assisting Nigeria in “identifying, tracking, and responding to terrorist threats.”
The head of defence information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, Major General Samaila Uba, affirmed that the United States was using assets from the northeastern Bauchi airbase.
“This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders,” he stated to reporters. He said, “Our U.S. partners continue to play a strictly non-combat role, enabling operations led by Nigerian authorities.”
Uba further stated that both parties would agree on the schedule for the U.S. deployment in Nigeria.
The deployment, which comes after U.S. airstrikes against militants in northwest Nigeria in late 2025, demonstrates the United States’ renewed involvement in combating the insurgencies that are growing throughout West Africa.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah