Christopher Musa, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, has clarified that the presence of United States troops in Nigeria is strictly for “training assistance” and plays an “advisory role.” The Minister assured the public that the Nigerian armed forces would maintain command over all operations conducted within the nation’s territory.
This clarification was relayed by Timothy Antigha, special adviser on media to the minister, following Musa’s inaugural ‘Monthly Operational Briefing’ held at the ministry’s conference room in Abuja on Wednesday. “The Americans are in Nigeria on a purely training assistance and advisory role,” Musa was quoted as stating, emphasizing that the “armed forces of Nigeria will be in command of all operations conducted within the nation’s territory.”
During the briefing, the Minister reviewed ongoing military operations, identified various threats to national security, and offered “strategic guidance to the armed services.” Antigha further stated that “General Musa commended the professionalism, resilience, and gallantry of Nigerian troops and reaffirmed the commitment of his ministry to supporting troops’ welfare and improving the operational efficiency of the Armed Forces.”
The deployment of US ground troops to Nigeria in February followed a new security cooperation agreement between the two nations. This military collaboration was established after the US redesignated Nigeria as a ‘country of particular concern’ (CPC) by then-President Donald Trump. Trump had previously threatened to send troops into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing our Christians.” Despite these claims, the federal government has consistently rejected allegations of systemic persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
The US also carried out air strikes on December 25 against two terrorist enclaves located in the Bauni forest in Tangaza Local Government Area, Sokoto state.
