US withdraws most troops from Nigeria’s Lake Chad operation

The United States has withdrawn most of the troops it deployed to Nigeria for a joint counterterrorism mission in the Lake Chad Basin, while maintaining intelligence sharing and other security support for Abuja.

Commander of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, disclosed this on Thursday during a digital press briefing on the outcome of the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2026.

Anderson said the military operation in the Lake Chad Basin had ended, prompting the withdrawal of most American personnel involved in the mission. He, however, said the US would continue to work with Nigeria through intelligence cooperation and other support requested by the Nigerian government.

“And so that operation in the Lake Chad Basin of Nigeria not only helped the countries in that immediate region; it also helps countries globally as that disrupts the ISIS network,” Anderson said.

“And so — and then we have withdrawn much of our forces that were just there for that operation, but are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary to be able to prosecute these difficult tasks,” he added.

The US general described Nigeria as a key partner with a capable military, saying cooperation between both countries had produced notable gains in the campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or Daesh.

He said intelligence support from the US, combined with Nigeria’s military efforts, contributed to an operation that targeted the second-in-command of the global ISIS network.

“I think the partnership that we’ve shown recently with Nigeria, where Nigeria’s a very capable and large country — it’s got a strong economy; it’s got a large, educated population; it’s got a very capable military.

“But there are things that we have learned in the counterterrorist fight over several years that we were able to assist and integrate with them to help them with their intelligence and help with the intelligence sharing that eventually led to a cooperative effort to where we were able to bring some unique capabilities that the U.S. brings and be able to prosecute together the number two leader within the ISIS or Daesh organization who is responsible for much of their global operations, their global media, and their recruiting”, he said.

Anderson said the outcome of the mission underscored the importance of intelligence collaboration over prolonged foreign troop presence.

“So I think as we go forward, that is an example of how we’re looking at engaging with partners to help them be more effective by only bringing unique U.S. capabilities that allow the partner to be effective in these fights,” he said.

He also called for deeper intelligence cooperation among African countries to tackle terrorism, illicit trafficking and other cross-border crimes.

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According to him, recent collaboration and information-sharing among partners helped in intercepting a record 31-ton cocaine shipment that originated from South America and moved through the West African coast.

“I was able to coordinate through our interagency in the United States, through AFRICOM, and then notify some of the partners. And eventually it was a Spanish ship that interdicted the ship that had 31 tons of cocaine on it, and it turns out is the largest interdiction of drugs at sea that we’ve ever seen,” Anderson said.

He added that continued cooperation between African countries, foreign partners and the private sector would be vital in confronting security threats while also supporting economic stability and investment on the continent.

The US had deployed about 200 military personnel to Nigeria in February 2026 to support intelligence, surveillance and counterterrorism operations in the Lake Chad Basin, amid expanding security ties between Washington and Abuja in the fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups in the region.

The deployment came after Donald Trump redesignated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and pledged stronger US support in the battle against terrorist groups operating in the country.