The United States (U.S) government has dispatched troops to Nigeria following a series of airstrikes and amid a high-stakes Congressional hearing focused on religious freedom and counter-terrorism in the West African country.
On Tuesday, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), confirmed that the U.S has dispatched the troops to Nigeria.
The deployment marks the first official acknowledgment of American “boots on the ground” since the U.S. conducted precision airstrikes in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025.
While the specific number of personnel remains classified, General Anderson described the unit as a “small team” bringing “unique capabilities” to augment Nigeria’s domestic security efforts.
The top general said the U.S. team was sent after both countries agreed that more needed to be done to combat the terrorist threat in West Africa.
“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States,” General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Africa Command AFRICOM, told journalists at a briefing.
Anderson did not provide further details about the size and scope of their mission.
It was also gathered that the U.S team appeared to be heavily involved in intelligence gathering and enabling Nigerian forces to strike terrorist-affiliated groups.
Meanwhile in Washington, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa will resume its hearing on Nigeria’s status as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) on Wednesday.
The hearing has become a flashpoint for debate over U.S President Donald Trump’s recent designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over religious freedom violations.
The joint hearing of the committee will sit on Wednesday with witnesses citing recurring killings, displacement, and insecurity as indicators of an emerging broader religious conflict in Nigeria.
The hearing will be jointly convened by the House Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere to assess what U.S lawmakers describe as mounting threats to religious freedom worldwide. It is titled, ‘Defending Religious Freedom Around the World.’
Written testimonies by key witnesses were released on the committee’s website ahead of the session and are expected to be delivered when the hearing convenes.
Recall that Nigeria has come under intense pressure from Washington to act after President Trump accused the West African nation of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants operating in the northwest.
The Nigerian government had consistently denied any systematic persecution of Christians, saying it is targeting Islamist fighters and other armed groups that attack both Christian and Muslim civilians.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, fighters have intensified attacks on military convoys and civilians, and the northwest remains the epicentre of the 17-year Islamist insurgency.
Recall also that the U.S carried out a strike in Sokoto State in coordination with Nigerian authorities and reportedly killed multiple ISIS militants.
The strike came after Trump, in late October, began warning that Christianity faced an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene over what he said was its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.
