The United States has withdrawn the majority of its military personnel deployed to Nigeria for a joint counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin, while maintaining intelligence sharing and other security cooperation with Nigerian authorities.
Commander of US Air Forces in Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, announced the development during a virtual press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026. He said the partnership between Washington and Abuja remained active, particularly in intelligence operations targeting the Islamic State (ISIS/Daesh).
According to Anderson, the specific mission that required the deployment of US troops has been completed, prompting the withdrawal of most personnel. However, he noted that the United States would continue providing 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,” Anderson said.
“And so — and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the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.
