Insecurity: US deploys military team to Nigeria

A senior United States military commander has confirmed that Washington has deployed a small military team to Nigeria, marking a further expansion of security cooperation between the two countries amid persistent jihadist violence.

Speaking on Tuesday, February 3, Dagvin Anderson, head of United States Africa Command (Africom), said the deployment followed renewed talks with Nigerian authorities on how to tackle insecurity.

The comments came weeks after the US carried out air strikes on militant targets in Nigeria on December 25, an operation ordered under the administration of Donald Trump.

“We agreed that we needed to work together on the way forward in the region,” Anderson said during a virtual press briefing. “That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, including a small US team that brings some unique capabilities to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years.”

The Africom chief did not disclose the size of the team or the specific roles it would play.

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Strikes and expanding cooperation

US military officials have said recent cooperation includes greater intelligence sharing and equipment support as Nigeria battles Islamist armed groups operating across several regions.

Africom confirmed last month that the December strikes targeted Islamic State-linked fighters in Sokoto State, in north-western Nigeria. US support, the command said, will be focused on both the north-west and the north-east, where violence linked to Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, has persisted for nearly two decades.

‘Genocide’ claim disputed

The expanded cooperation comes against the backdrop of controversial remarks by Trump, who has claimed there is a “genocide” of Christians in Nigeria. However, the Nigerian government and some analysts have rejected that characterisation, saying that the country’s security crises affect both Christians and Muslims, often indiscriminately.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is broadly divided between a Christian-majority south and a Muslim-majority north, with violence driven by a mix of jihadist insurgency, banditry and communal conflict.

US officials have said the latest deployment is intended to support Nigeria’s existing efforts rather than replace them, as both countries seek to contain the spread of extremist violence across the region.