The Defence Headquarters has clarified that 200 United States troops are still stationed in Nigeria, even after most American personnel pulled out of the Lake Chad Basin. According to DHQ, the soldiers currently in the country are not part of the Lake Chad mission that ended recently, but belong to a separate deployment focused on joint intelligence work and training Nigerian forces against ISIS and other extremist groups.

Speaking on the issue, DHQ said the American team is providing technical support, training, and intelligence sharing at the request of the Nigerian government. The military stressed that the troops are not involved in direct combat. Nigeria retains full control over all operations on its soil, with the U.S. team playing only an advisory and capacity-building role.

The clarification came after US Air Forces Africa Commander, General Dagvin Anderson, confirmed that most U.S. forces sent for the Lake Chad counter terrorism operation had been withdrawn once that mission ended. He added that Washington will continue intelligence cooperation with Abuja, which he described as key to recent successes against ISIS networks.

The presence of the 200 troops has sparked debate, with some retired officers calling for more transparency on the size and scope of the deployment. The federal government maintains that the arrangement is within Nigeria’s sovereignty framework and is strictly limited to training and intelligence assistance.

Sources: Vanguard News, Reuters, AFRICOM briefing