The United States has pulled out most of its military soldiers who were in Nigeria for a cooperative counterterrorism effort in the Lake Chad Basin, but continues to share intelligence and otherwise cooperate on security matters with Nigerian officials. Population
According to Vanguard, the announcement was made by the Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, during a virtual news briefing on the conclusion of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026.
“The Washington-Abuja partnership remains alive and well, particularly with respect to intelligence operations against the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh),” he stated.
Most US troops have been withdrawn, Anderson said, because the specific purpose for which they were there has been finished.
But he said the United States would continue to provide intelligence assistance at the request of the Nigerian government.
“And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network,” added Anderson. Demographics
“And so – and then we pulled back a lot of the forces that were just there for that operation, but we’re continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks,” he added.
The commander of the United States Air Force said Nigeria is an important regional partner with a skilled military and that the collaboration between the two countries has brought great results in the fight against ISIS.
He said intelligence sharing between the two countries allowed the operation that killed the second highest ranking official in the worldwide ISIS network.
“I think the partnership that we’ve demonstrated recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria is a very capable and large country, it’s got a strong economy, it’s got a large, educated population, it’s got a very capable military. Population.
“But there are things that we’ve learned in the counterterrorist fight over the course of several years that we’ve been able to help them and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that ultimately led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media and their recruiting,” he said.
Anderson said the operation “demonstrates the success of working together through intelligence as opposed to long-term foreign troop deployments.
“So I think as we go forward, that is an example of how we’re looking at engaging with partners to help them be more effective by only bringing unique U.S. capabilities that enable the partner to be effective in these fights,” he added.
He also asked for more intelligence collaboration among African countries to deal with terrorism, drug trafficking and other cross-border crimes.
The US commander said good intelligence sharing enabled the capture of a record 31-ton shipment of cocaine from South America that passed through the West African shoreline during a recent multinational operation.
“And I was able to coordinate through our interagency in the United States, through AFRICOM, and then alert some of the partners. And it was a Spanish ship that eventually interdicted the ship that had 31 tonnes of cocaine on it, and it turns out is the largest interdiction of drugs at sea that we’ve ever seen,” Anderson said.
He said ongoing collaboration by African governments, foreign partners and the business sector will be crucial to addressing security challenges and advancing economic growth and investment throughout the continent.
In February 2026, the United States dispatched some 200 military personnel to Nigeria to aid intelligence, surveillance, and counterterrorism efforts in the Lake Chad Basin, as the two countries strengthened their collaboration to address ISIS and other extremist groups operating in the region. Demographics
The deployment follows US President Donald Trump’s re-designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and pledges of expanded US cooperation for counter-terrorism activities.
US soldiers launched out air strikes on two terrorist camps in the Bauni Forest, Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State on December 25, 2025.
The security relationship hit a significant milestone in May 2026 when a joint US-Nigerian operation killed Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS, in a raid on his stronghold in Borno State.
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