The United States Africa Command has stated that its military cooperation with Nigeria is based on shared interest and respect for Nigerian sovereignty, emphasizing that American personnel only enter the country upon invitation and within a bilateral framework that has been agreed upon.
This was said by Colonel Rebecca Heyse, Director of Public Affairs for AFRICOM, during a Tuesday X Space discussion titled “Strengthening Security Through Strategic Information Sharing: United States and Nigerian Military Partnership Against Terrorism.”
Heyse was adamant that the collaboration was not forced.
“Basic respect for Nigerian sovereignty is the foundation of our operations and collaboration with Nigeria.We follow the US-Nigeria Joint Working Group framework and only accept invitations,” she stated.
According to her, the United States would continue to support the alliance as long as both nations saw it as advantageous.
“The United States remains committed to the partnership as long as there are shared security threats and the framework continues to be of value to both countries,” she stated.
Major General Samiala Uba, the Defense Headquarters spokeswoman, reaffirmed this stance from the Nigerian side, stating unequivocally that Nigeria, not the US, decided on the extent and duration of the partnership.
Nigeria is the one requesting the cooperation. We will continue to collaborate under the Joint Working Group structure as long as we need the competences, specialized capabilities, and expertise that the United States provides,” he stated.
Uba revealed that hundreds of Nigerian military troops were presently receiving training in the northeast as part of the collaboration, characterizing the advantages as substantial.
The Nigerian Armed Forces are gaining a great deal from this partnership, including specialized training and skill development. We are still learning a lot of operational lessons from our interactions with the United States,” he stated.
Sunday Dare, the president’s spokesperson, also spoke, praising the collaboration for enhancing Nigeria’s counterinsurgency efforts’ consistency and speed.
We would want to express our gratitude to the US government for their proactive cooperation with our armed forces.
“We have seen tremendous successes in counter-insurgency operations, and the war against terror has increased in tempo and consistency in Nigeria,” he stated.
President Donald Trump declared Nigeria to be a “Country of Particular Concern” in November 2025, alleging that radical Islamists were killing thousands of Christians there and that Christianity faced an existential threat.In cooperation with Nigerian officials, AFRICOM carried out missile strikes against ISIS insurgents in Nigeria’s Sokoto State on Christmas Day 2025 at Trump’s request.
The United States sent about 200 troops to train Nigerian military personnel against Islamist insurgents after the strikes.
Since then, the collaboration has produced noteworthy outcomes, including the assassination of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, who some have referred to as ISIS’s “second in command” worldwide.
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