Nigeria and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening military cooperation, with counterterrorism operations, intelligence sharing and specialized training identified as priority areas.
The pledge came as Minister of Defence Gen. Christopher Musa hosted Maj. Gen. Matthew Brown, Commander of the U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), for an official working visit to the Ministry of Defence in Abuja.
Gen. Musa said
collaborative security operations in the northeast, particularly around the Lake Chad Basin, had significantly boosted troop morale, and he sought to build on those gains.
He outlined a results-oriented framework centered on specialized joint training for Special Forces, expanded intelligence sharing and capacity building, enhanced border surveillance and security, counter–improvised explosive device (C-IED) support, and modernization of defense infrastructure to strengthen Nigeria’s local capacity.
Maj. Gen. Brown, whose command coordinates U.S. Army activities across Africa in support of U.S. Africa Command, extended early Independence Day felicitations and praised the decades-long military-to-military relationship.
He highlighted counterterrorism engagements against ISIS-affiliated groups in Africa and commended troops involved in the operations.
Addressing the nature of U.S. military engagements in Nigeria following the departure of soldiers who formed part of the Combined Special Task Force that operated in the Bauchi area, he emphasized that U.S. activities were temporary and focused on institutional support and collaboration.
Describing the bilateral relationship as strategic and grounded in mutual trust, Maj. Gen. Brown said the primary purpose of his visit was to gain a direct understanding of Nigeria’s defense priorities so the United States could better align its broader support and strengthen ongoing bilateral intelligence-sharing efforts.
The two countries, have in recent months, established defense working groups under a 2026 Defense Cooperation Roadmap to institutionalize collaboration on intelligence, training, logistics and joint counterterrorism operations.
