The deployment comes amid a long-running insurgency in Nigeria, particularly involving Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The United States military has confirmed that a small team of US forces has been dispatched to Nigeria, marking the first official acknowledgement of American troops operating on the ground in the West African nation since US airstrikes last December.

The deployment, according to Reuters, was announced on Tuesday by Dagvin Anderson, head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), who said the move follows a mutual agreement between the United States and the Nigerian government to strengthen efforts against terror threats in the region.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that President Trump ordered airstrikes on what he described as Islamic State camps in North-east Nigeria.

While United States and Nigerian officials said the 25 December 2025 strikes were successful, undetonated explosives believed to be debris from the US strikes were found in different civilian-dominated areas in Kwara, Niger and Sokoto states.

The 25 December US missile strikes came weeks after Mr Trump threatened to go “guns-a-blazing” into the “now disgraced country” after redesignating Nigeria as a country of particular concern over false claims of “Christian genocide.”

The Nigerian government had disputed the Christian genocide narratives, arguing that people of all faiths were victims of insurgency and banditry. It then urged the US to help dismantle the terror networks ravaging Nigeria, instead of promoting narratives that could further polarise the country.

US troops in Nigeria

Mr Anderson, a general, described the unit as providing “unique US capabilities” but did not disclose specific details about the team’s size, mission scope, or exact activities.

Reuters reports that Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Christopher Musa, also confirmed the presence of US personnel but offered no further specifics.

The deployment comes amid a long-running insurgency in Nigeria, particularly involving Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which have intensified attacks in the North-east, as both factions make efforts to expand to North-west and North-central, where banditry, resource-based conflict and other forms of violence have continued to destabilise local communities.

Washington has also conducted surveillance flights over Nigeria from Ghana.