Keypoints:
- US expands weapons deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria
- Cooperation targets ISIS-linked armed groups across West Africa
- Washington signals tougher counterterror posture under Trump
THE United States is increasing military equipment deliveries and intelligence sharing with Nigeria as Washington sharpens its counterterrorism strategy against ISIS-linked armed groups operating across Africa.
The expansion was confirmed by Lieutenant General John Brennan, deputy commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), during a bilateral security meeting held in Abuja last week. The talks brought together senior military and diplomatic officials from both countries amid growing concern over the spread of extremist violence across West and Central Africa.
Brennan said the Pentagon was also maintaining open communication channels with the militaries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, despite political tensions following a series of military takeovers in the Sahel.
The renewed engagement with Nigeria reflects a broader shift in US Africa policy under President Donald Trump, whose administration has adopted a more forceful posture toward ISIS-affiliated groups. By expanding intelligence sharing and accelerating military assistance, Washington is seeking to strengthen African partners’ capacity to confront insurgent threats that increasingly transcend national borders.
‘More aggressive’ approach under Trump
Speaking in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the Abuja meeting, Brennan said the US had moved decisively toward a more assertive operational strategy.
‘We’ve gotten a lot more aggressive and are working with partners to target, kinetically, the threats,’ he said.
US officials believe extremist networks operating in different regions of the continent are linked through financing, recruitment routes and tactical coordination, requiring a continent-wide response rather than isolated national efforts.
‘From Somalia to Nigeria, the problem set is connected,’ Brennan said. ‘So we’re trying to take it apart and then provide partners with the information they need.’
Intelligence sharing and equipment support
Under the expanded framework, US support will focus on enabling partner forces rather than direct combat deployment.
‘It’s been about more enabling partners and then providing them equipment and capabilities with less restrictions so that they can be more successful,’ Brennan said.
The assistance includes enhanced intelligence analysis, surveillance support and faster delivery of military hardware. Nigerian officials have previously complained that delays and usage restrictions on foreign-supplied equipment limited their operational effectiveness, particularly during fast-moving counterterror missions.
AFRICOM officials say the updated cooperation model is designed to allow African militaries to respond more rapidly while improving coordination across air and ground units.
Focus on Nigeria’s conflict zones
US intelligence support will primarily bolster Nigerian air operations in the northwest and northeast of the country, regions that have experienced sustained insecurity for more than a decade.
In the northeast, Boko Haram and its ISIS-aligned offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province, continue to stage attacks on military positions and civilian communities. In the northwest, heavily armed criminal groups have escalated mass kidnappings and village raids, blurring the line between banditry and insurgency.
The Abuja talks followed US airstrikes last month on ISIS-linked targets in northwest Nigeria, an operation that underscored Washington’s willingness to intervene when threats are assessed as transnational.
Diplomatic strains beneath cooperation
Despite the renewed military engagement, political sensitivities remain.
President Trump recently accused Nigeria of mass killings of Christians, an allegation firmly rejected by Nigerian authorities, who say the violence stems from overlapping factors including criminality, extremist insurgency and competition over land and resources.
Nigeria is broadly divided between a predominantly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south, and analysts have cautioned that framing the conflict in purely religious terms risks inflaming tensions.
Both governments have nonetheless emphasised the importance of sustained security cooperation, with officials on both sides stressing that extremist violence poses a shared threat.
Regional stakes
Brennan said the US continues to engage Sahelian militaries even as some governments reduce Western military presence and explore new international partnerships.
Security analysts warn that diminished coordination in the region could create operational vacuums exploited by Daesh affiliates moving across porous borders.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the expanded partnership offers critical intelligence and logistical backing at a time when its armed forces are stretched across multiple theatres. For Washington, it marks a clear signal that counterterrorism engagement in Africa is no longer being scaled back — but recalibrated and intensified.
