abuja, nigeria
Reuters
—
Nigeria’s military announced Wednesday that approximately 200 U.S. troops scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks will not take part in any combat operations and that the Nigerian military will have full control over all security decisions.
This followed comments from U.S. officials on Tuesday that the Pentagon plans to send troops to train Nigeria’s military to fight Islamic extremists, weeks after President Donald Trump issued orders against what he called Islamic State targets.
The U.S. military acknowledged last week that it had sent a small team to Nigeria, without providing details, marking the first time Washington has acknowledged personnel there since the Christmas bombing.
Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Samaira Uba, told Reuters that Abuja had requested the U.S. presence to provide technical training and advisory services at several locations.
“These personnel will not serve in a combat capacity and will not have a direct operational role,” Uba said. “The Nigerian military retains full command authority, makes all operational decisions and directs all missions in Nigeria’s sovereign territory.”
He declined to say when the troops would arrive, but said the deployment was part of ongoing cooperation under the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Task Force.
The US government is increasing pressure on Nigeria after President Trump accused the West African country of failing to protect Christians from Islamic extremists in the northwest. Nigeria denies allegations of religious persecution, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
U.S. Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Tuesday that would require the secretary of state to submit a report to Congress on U.S. efforts to address what they called “the ongoing religious persecution and mass atrocities against Christians in Nigeria.”
The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Responsibility Act of 2026 is sponsored by Riley Moore, who led a parliamentary delegation to Nigeria in December and has criticized the government for not doing enough to protect Christian communities.
Nigeria faces overlapping security crises, including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnap groups in the northwest, and deadly clashes between farmers and herders in the central region, often driven by ethnic and religious tensions.
