The United States government has deepened its military partnership with Nigeria with the deployment of a U.S. special forces team to support counterterrorism operations in the country.
The Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), Gen. Dagvin Anderson, disclosed this during a digital news conference on Tuesday.
Anderson said the deployment followed high-level discussions he held with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rome, after which the Nigerian leader approved U.S. airstrikes carried out on Christmas Day against Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Nigeria.
According to him, both countries agreed on the need for closer coordination to decisively confront terrorism in Nigeria and across the ECOWAS sub-region.
“Our partnership with Nigeria is a great example of a very willing and capable partner that requested the unique capabilities only the United States can bring,” Anderson said.
He explained that U.S. support includes intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) as well as intelligence fusion, which enhances the effectiveness of joint counterterrorism operations.
“That collaboration has led to the deployment of a small U.S. team bringing unique capabilities to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” he added.
Anderson did not disclose details about the composition of the U.S. special forces team, but confirmed that it was already operating in Nigeria.
The AFRICOM chief stressed that effective counterterrorism outcomes were achievable where the U.S. worked with capable and committed partners like Nigeria.
“We’re looking at working across West Africa, and Nigeria remains a strong example of that partnership,” he said, adding that his deputy recently visited Nigeria with a high-level U.S. State Department delegation led by Allison Hooker to further strengthen cooperation.
Anderson noted that West Africa and the Sahel were facing escalating threats from terrorist groups such as Daesh, al-Qaida and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), warning that these groups were increasingly pressuring regional capitals and expanding toward coastal countries.
He said his recent visits to countries along the Gulf of Guinea underscored shared regional concerns over the growing terrorism threat.
According to him, AFRICOM’s counterterrorism strategy prioritises collaboration with African partners to confront common security challenges.
“We will continue to engage with willing partners to address this threat across the region. Countering these threats together is critical to our collective future,” Anderson said.
Beyond West Africa, Anderson said AFRICOM had sustained counterterrorism operations in other parts of the continent, including Somalia, where ISIS has emerged as a second major extremist force alongside al-Shabab.
He noted that sustained U.S. airstrikes, surveillance and logistics support had significantly degraded ISIS-Somalia’s operational capacity, forcing its fighters and leadership into hiding.
Meanwhile, Anderson announced that the U.S. would host the largest multinational military exercise spanning Africa, Europe and the Middle East—African Lion 2026—in Morocco in May.
The exercise will involve more than 30 military forces, including 19 African countries, six European nations, and participants from the Middle East and Latin America.
He said the exercise, which coincides with the United States’ 250th Independence Anniversary, would showcase the scale of multilateral security cooperation across regions.