Nigeria and the United States have agreed to strengthen military cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism, intelligence sharing, specialised training and border security.
The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd.), disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Commander of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), Major General Matthew W. Brown, who was on an official working visit to the Ministry of Defence.
According to a statement by the Minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, the meeting reviewed ongoing joint security initiatives and explored the development of a more result-oriented framework for future defence collaboration.
Musa expressed appreciation to the United States for its continued support for Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts, particularly security operations in the North-East and the Lake Chad Basin. He said the partnership had contributed to boosting the morale of Nigerian troops.
The Minister identified specialised joint training for Special Forces, intelligence sharing and capacity building, enhanced border surveillance, counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) support and the modernisation of defence infrastructure as key areas for expanded cooperation.
Responding, Brown commended Nigerian troops for their operations against ISIS-affiliated groups in Africa and described the military relationship between Nigeria and the United States as important to addressing shared security challenges.
Brown also said the purpose of his visit was to gain a clearer understanding of Nigeria’s defence priorities so that future U.S. support could be better aligned with the country’s needs, while strengthening ongoing bilateral intelligence-sharing efforts.
The U.S. commander further clarified that American military activities in Nigeria are temporary and focused on institutional support, training and collaboration, following the withdrawal of personnel who had previously served with the Combined Special Task Force in the Bauchi area.
The latest engagement comes weeks after Nigerian and U.S. officials held high-level defence discussions in Washington aimed at strengthening military-to-military relations and counter-terrorism cooperation.
