200 US troops still in Nigeria for joint intelligence and training – DHQ

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has clarified that the withdrawal of some United States troops from Nigeria involved personnel temporarily deployed for a specific counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin and not the 200 US troops stationed in the country for ongoing joint intelligence and training operations.

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Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, made the clarification on Friday, July 3, following reports that the United States had withdrawn its troops from Nigeria after a successful counterterrorism operation.

According to Uba, the Nigeria-US security partnership remains intact, with intelligence sharing and other forms of cooperation continuing as before. “The Commander was primarily talking about the additional forces that came to execute the mission in Lake Chad. Initial US personnel are still in Nigeria,” he said.

He explained that the troops deployed for the Lake Chad operation were always intended to remain in Nigeria only for the duration of that specific mission. “The partnership between Nigeria and the US is unchanged with key information sharing ongoing. As we saw in May, there are times that require additional forces to execute specific missions. Those forces are intended for short periods of time only,” Uba added.

He said both countries would continue working together to combat terrorism and that additional personnel and resources would be deployed whenever operational requirements demand.

The clarification followed a report quoting Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, as saying that the United States had withdrawn most of the forces deployed for the Lake Chad Basin mission after it was successfully concluded.

According to the report, Anderson said the operation contributed to disrupting ISIS activities in the region and included the elimination of a senior ISIS leader responsible for global operations, media and recruitment.

He stressed that while the temporary deployment had ended, the United States would continue supporting Nigeria through intelligence sharing and other security cooperation at the request of the Nigerian government. Anderson also described Nigeria as a key regional partner with a capable military, noting that intelligence collaboration between both countries had produced significant gains in the fight against ISIS.