U.S. Withdraws Troops from Nigeria, Maintains Support

The United States has withdrawn its troops deployed to Nigeria for joint counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin, as disclosed by General Dagvin R. Anderson during a digital press briefing following the African Chief of Defence Conference in 2026.

Despite the troop withdrawal, the U.S. will continue its intelligence-sharing partnership with Nigeria to support counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State (IS) and Daesh. General Anderson emphasized that the U.S. remains committed to assisting Nigeria in prosecuting difficult counterterrorism tasks and highlighted the significant results achieved through military cooperation.

The U.S. had previously deployed 200 military personnel to Nigeria in February 2026 amid growing security cooperation to combat IS. This partnership has led to successful operations, including the killing of Abu Bilal al Minuki, the second-in-command of IS, in a joint operation in Borno State in May 2026.

The U.S. also recently contributed to the interception of a record 31-ton cocaine shipment along the West African coast.