The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has reassured Nigerians that ongoing military cooperation with the United States does not in any way threaten the country’s sovereignty, stressing that the partnership is strictly focused on strengthening Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and anti-insurgency operations.
Military authorities said on Friday that the support from the U.S. government is advisory and capacity-building in scope, with no financial implications for the Federal Government.
The clarification follows the recent announcement by the DHQ of the arrival of about 100 U.S. military personnel and related equipment on February 17 to support Nigeria’s anti-terror operations. In an earlier statement, the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Samaila Uba explained that the deployment was the outcome of engagements at a bilateral working group meeting between Nigerian defence officials and their U.S. counterparts.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Micheal Onoja, emphasised that the collaboration is limited to training, intelligence sharing, and operational advisory support aimed at enhancing the Armed Forces of Nigeria’s effectiveness against terrorist groups and other non-state actors.
According to him, the U.S. personnel are not engaged in independent combat missions but are working alongside Nigerian forces to improve tactical planning, logistics coordination, surveillance capabilities, and specialised counter-terrorism strategies.
He noted that Nigeria continues to retain full command and operational control of all military activities within its territory.
“The partnership should not be misconstrued,” he said, describing it as a routine military-to-military engagement consistent with international best practices in confronting terrorism and asymmetric warfare.
Onoja added that similar defence collaborations exist between Nigeria and several other countries, particularly in areas such as intelligence fusion, special operations training, counter-IED measures, and maritime security.
The DHQ maintained that the objective of the current engagement is to bolster Nigeria’s anti-terror operations in troubled regions, degrade the operational capacity of insurgent and bandit groups, and improve overall national security architecture without compromising the nation’s independence.
The military urged the public to disregard misinformation suggesting foreign interference, reiterating that all engagements are conducted within the framework of Nigeria’s laws and in line with established diplomatic and defence cooperation agreements.
