Nigeria, US Deepen Military Ties To Combat Terrorism

Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening military relations with the United States (US), particularly in counter-terrorism operations.

Gen. Musa made the commitment on Wednesday in Abuja when he received Maj-Gen. Matthew Brown, commander of the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), who was on a working visit to the Ministry of Defence.

The visit aimed to review ongoing joint security initiatives and formulate a more result-oriented strategic framework for future defence collaboration.

Musa, in a statement by his special assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, expressed appreciation to the US government for its sustained partnership.

He noted that collaborative security operations in the North East, particularly around the Lake Chad Basin, had significantly boosted troop morale.

The minister highlighted key priority areas for enhanced cooperation as specialised joint training for special forces, intelligence sharing and capacity building, enhanced border surveillance and security, counter-improvised explosive devices (C-IED) support and modernisation of defence infrastructure to strengthen local capacity.

In his remark, Maj-Gen.Brown expressed gratitude for the decades-long military-to-military relationship that continues to advance common security objectives.

He specifically highlighted successful counter-terrorism engagements against ISIS-affiliated groups in Africa and commended the troops involved.

Reaffirming the nature of U.S. engagements in the region following the departure of the soldiers that formed part of the Combined Special Task Force that operated in the Bauchi area, Major General Brown emphasised that U.S. military activities in Nigeria are temporary and focused on institutional support and collaboration.

Describing the bilateral relationship as strategic and grounded in mutual trust, Major General Brown stated that the primary goal of his visit was to gain a direct understanding of Nigeria’s defence priorities in order to align broader U.S. support and strengthen ongoing bilateral intelligence sharing.