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The US military has deployed MQ-9 drones and about 200 troops to Nigeria to provide training and intelligence support to the Nigerian military in its fight against militants, officials from both countries told Reuters.
The U.S. forces are not embedded with frontline Nigerian units, and the drones are being used solely for intelligence gathering, not for airstrikes, officials said.
“We see this as a shared security threat,” a U.S. defence official said, explaining that the troops and drones were sent at Nigeria’s request.
Major General Samaila Uba, director of defence information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, confirmed that U.S. assets are operating from Bauchi airfield in the northeast.
“This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders,” Uba told Reuters.
“Our U.S. partners remain in a strictly non-combat role, enabling operations led by Nigerian authorities.”
MQ-9 drones, also known as Reaper drones, can remain aloft for over 27 hours and are capable of both intelligence collection and airstrikes, though U.S. officials stated that in Nigeria, they are only performing surveillance and reconnaissance.
Uba said the timeline of the U.S. deployment will be determined by agreement between both nations.
He added that U.S. forces are helping Nigeria “identify, track, and respond to terrorist threats.”
Uba and the U.S. official declined to comment on specific instances in which Nigerians targeted militants as a result of U.S. intelligence.
