Tinubu Meets U.S. Military Delegation Led by AFRICOM Commander

President Bola Tinubu on Sunday received a high-level delegation from the United States at the State House in Abuja.

The delegation was led by the Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin R. Anderson. President Tinubu welcomed the visitors alongside his National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and Nigeria’s service chiefs.

According to a statement by the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, the U.S. team included General Anderson and his officials, as well as the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, Keith Heffern. The meeting focused on security cooperation between both countries.

The visit comes amid reports that the United States recently deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria on February 3. This is said to be the first official U.S. military presence on Nigerian soil since airstrikes were carried out against terrorist targets on Christmas Day 2025.

Those airstrikes followed an order by U.S. President Donald Trump in December 2025, when he announced attacks on what he described as Islamic State targets and hinted that further military actions could take place.

Before the deployment, the U.S. had reportedly been conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria from neighbouring Ghana since November 2025, providing intelligence support ahead of the December strikes.

Speaking on the development, General Anderson explained that the deployment is part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between the United States and Nigeria in tackling the rising terrorist threats across West Africa.