NIGERIA SAYS 100 MORE U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL ARRIVE TO TACKLE INSURGENTS

Tue 17 February 2026:

Approximately 100 American military personnel have deployed to Nigeria, according to a Nigerian defence spokesperson, as the United States intensifies its efforts to combat Islamist militant groups in the region, Reuters reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest.

The U.S. carried out strikes targeting Islamic State-linked militants in December, and a small U.S. military team has been operating on the ground to boost Nigeria’s intelligence capabilities.

In recent days, several planes carrying U.S. troops and equipment have headed to Nigeria’s northern states, according to flight tracking data reviewed by Reuters.

Major General Samaila Uba, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, said the troops would train and advise local forces, but not take part in combat.

Earlier this month, Nigeria’s military said it expected around 200 more U.S. troops.

Presidential spokesperson Sunday Dare said Nigeria needed “massive support from the U.S. government” in terms of fighter jets and munitions, but declined to give numbers or a timeframe.

Nigeria’s 240 million people are evenly split between Christians mainly in the south and Muslims mainly in the north.

It acknowledges serious security problems, including from Islamist fighters, but denies that Christians face widespread or systematic persecution.

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Protracted fight

The US deployment follows an easing of tensions that flared between Washington and Nigeria late last year, when US President Donald Trump accused the country of failing to stop killings against Christians and threatened to intervene militarily.

The Nigerian government has rejected Trump’s accusation, and analysts say people across all faiths, not just Christians, are victims of armed groups’ violence.

In December, US forces launched air strikes on ISIL-affiliated fighters in the country’s northwest. Last month, following discussions with Nigerian authorities in Abuja, the head of US Africa Command confirmed that a small team of US military officers were in Nigeria, focused on intelligence support.

Nigeria is facing a protracted fight with dozens of local armed groups increasingly battling for turf, including the homegrown Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

There is also the ISIL-linked Lakurawa, as well as other “bandit” groups that specialise in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.

Recently, the crisis worsened to include other fighters from the neighbouring Sahel region, including the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.

Several thousand people in Nigeria have been killed, according to data from the United Nations.

Source: Independent Press and News Agencies

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