The US troopers won’t have a fight function and are to function beneath the total command authority of Nigeria’s navy.
Revealed On 16 Feb 2026
The USA has despatched 100 navy personnel to northern Nigeria to coach and advise native forces, as lethal threats rise from armed teams equivalent to Boko Haram and ISIL (ISIS)-linked factions.
Samaila Uba, Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters spokesman, confirmed the US troops’ arrival within the northeastern space of Bauchi on Monday.
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He stated they’ll present “technical assist” and “intelligence sharing” to assist goal and defeat “terrorist organisations”. The US additionally despatched “related gear” to assist the mission.
Uba careworn that the US troopers won’t play a direct fight function, however will share technical experience beneath the total command authority of Nigerian forces.
“The armed forces of Nigeria stay absolutely dedicated to degrading and defeating terrorist organisations that threaten the nation’s sovereignty, nationwide safety, and the protection of its residents,” stated the navy spokesman in feedback carried by Nigeria’s Premium Occasions newspaper.
Final weekend, gunmen on bikes rampaged by way of three villages in northern Nigeria, killing at least 46 people and abducting many others. The bloodiest assault occurred within the village of Konkoso, in Niger State, the place not less than 38 individuals have been shot useless or had their throats slit.
Protracted combat
The US deployment follows an easing of tensions that flared between Washington and Nigeria late final 12 months, when US President Donald Trump accused the country of failing to cease killings in opposition to Christians and threatened to intervene militarily.
The Nigerian authorities has rejected Trump’s accusation, and analysts say individuals throughout all faiths, not simply Christians, are victims of armed teams’ violence
In December, US forces launched air strikes on ISIL-affiliated fighters within the nation’s northwest. Final month, following discussions with Nigerian authorities in Abuja, the pinnacle of US Africa Command confirmed {that a} small staff of US navy officers have been in Nigeria, centered on intelligence assist.
Nigeria is dealing with a protracted combat with dozens of native armed teams more and more battling for turf, together with the homegrown Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP).
There may be additionally the ISIL-linked Lakurawa, in addition to different “bandit” teams that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and unlawful mining.
Lately, the disaster worsened to incorporate different fighters from the neighbouring Sahel area, together with the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first assault on Nigerian soil final 12 months.
A number of thousand individuals in Nigeria have been killed, in line with knowledge from the United Nations.
Whereas Christians have been amongst these focused, analysts and residents say the vast majority of victims of the armed teams are Muslims within the Muslim-dominated north, the place most assaults happen.
Nigeria’s 240 million individuals are evenly cut up between Christians, primarily within the south, and Muslims, largely within the north.
