The United States has confirmed the deployment of a small team of military personnel in Nigeria, marking the official acknowledgment that the U.S Forces are now on the ground in West African nation amid rising insecurity.

General Dagbin R. M. Anderson said the move followed his meeting with Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rome late last year.

The top general said the US team was sent after both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threats in West Africa.

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nation’s , to include a small U. S team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years”, General Dagbin R. M Anderson, head of the U.S military ‘s Africa’s Command, AFICOM, told journalists during a press briefings on Tuesday.

It is unclear when the team arrived Nigeria, but they are expected to bring specialized capabilities in intelligence and planning to support Nigerian forces’ efforts against extremist groups.

The deployment of military officers marks the latest development following the U.S airstrikes carried out on December 25, 2025 against an Islamic State-affiliated group.