Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has announced the arrival of approximately 100 United States military personnel and equipment in the country to support the professional development of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN).
The visiting personnel landed at the Bauchi Airfield as part of a bilateral defence cooperation agreement between Nigeria and the United States.
The deployment followed a formal request by the Federal Government and was finalised during a joint working group meeting involving officials from both nations.
According to military authorities, discussions during the engagement centred on identified gaps in training, technical expertise, and intelligence-sharing within the Nigerian military.
The U.S. team is made up of technical experts who will operate strictly in advisory and training roles.
The DHQ stressed that the American personnel will not participate in combat operations. Instead, all activities will be carried out under the supervision and control of the Nigerian Government, in close collaboration with national military leadership.
Officials explained that the partnership is designed to enhance the operational capacity of Nigerian troops by providing access to specialised technical knowledge and advanced training.
The initiative is expected to strengthen the military’s ability to counter terrorist threats and improve security for vulnerable communities nationwide.
Joint exercises and intelligence-driven cooperation are set to begin immediately, with a focus on equipping troops to better detect, disrupt, and dismantle extremist networks seeking to undermine national stability.
Reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereignty, the Defence Headquarters pledged to sustain efforts aimed at weakening and eliminating terrorist groups operating within the country.
Also Read: X (Twitter) Suffers Global Outage, Users Unable to Access Platform
It also assured the public that the collaboration would remain transparent, promising consistent and accurate updates on the progress of the partnership.