The Pentagon is set to deploy about 200 additional US troops to Nigeria in the coming weeks to train the country’s military in its fight against Islamist militants, a US official confirmed on Tuesday.
The deployment comes weeks after President Donald Trump criticised Nigeria over what he described as its failure to protect Christians from terrorist attacks.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the incoming troops will reinforce a small contingent of American forces already operating in the West African nation.
The existing team has been assisting Nigerian forces in identifying potential terrorist targets using both US and Nigerian intelligence.
The additional personnel, whose deployment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, will be stationed at various locations across Nigeria.
Their role will focus on troop training and providing technical expertise.
The official emphasized that U.S. forces will not participate in direct combat operations.
US–Nigeria relations recently experienced heightened tensions after President Trump late last year threatened to intervene militarily, saying he would enter Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” over what he called a “Christian genocide.”
On Christmas Day, US Navy warships, reportedly supported by Nigerian intelligence, launched 16 Tomahawk missiles targeting what Trump described as terrorists responsible for attacks on Nigerian Christians.
The strike followed years of lobbying by Christian advocacy groups, Republican lawmakers, and American public figures pushing for stronger U.S. intervention in Nigeria’s protracted security crisis.
