The United States has sent MQ-9 drones and about 200 troops to Nigeria to assist in the fight against Islamist militants, officials from both countries said.
The deployment is focused on intelligence gathering, with the drones not carrying out airstrikes and the troops not embedded with frontline Nigerian forces.
It follows the closure of a major US drone base in neighboring Niger in 2024 after the country’s military government asked American forces to leave.
According to a US defence official, the new deployment was made at Nigeria’s request to strengthen intelligence operations.
Nigerian authorities confirmed that the US assets are operating from an airfield in Bauchi in the country’s North-East.
The collaboration is part of a broader intelligence-sharing arrangement between the two nations. Officials say the US role remains strictly non-combat, supporting Nigerian-led operations on the ground.
