The Defence Headquarters has clarified that the reported withdrawal of about 200 United States military personnel from Nigeria does not signal an end to the security partnership between Abuja and Washington.
The Director of Defence Information, Major General Samaila Uba, made the clarification on Tuesday during a security briefing organised by the National Counter Terrorism Centre.
Uba was responding to growing media reports concerning the planned withdrawal of US troops from Nigeria, following a report by The New York Times that Washington was preparing to reduce its military presence in the country.
According to the Defence Headquarters spokesman, the deployment of US military personnel in Nigeria has traditionally been tied to specific missions and operational requirements. Consequently, changes in troop numbers should not automatically be interpreted as a breakdown in bilateral security relations.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to clarify that the reported withdrawal of about 200 United States personnel should not be interpreted as a breakdown or termination of the Nigeria-United States security partnership,” Uba said.
He stressed that the relationship between both countries remained strong and mutually beneficial, adding that American military deployments could be adjusted whenever particular operational objectives changed.
Uba explained that the US-Nigeria security partnership extends beyond the physical presence of American troops in the country.
He identified intelligence sharing, military training, technical assistance and information exchange as key components of the ongoing cooperation.
“Our cooperation with the United States is designed to strengthen our capabilities through intelligence sharing, training, technical assistance and other forms of professional military cooperation,” he said.
The clarification comes after the Commander of the United States Africa Command, General Dagvin Anderson, disclosed in July that “much of our forces” had already been withdrawn from Nigeria.
Anderson, however, made it clear that the reduction in the US military presence would not bring the security partnership with Nigeria to an end.
“They are continuing the partnership that Nigeria has asked for to help continue with the intelligence sharing and the understanding that’s necessary,” he said.
The Defence Headquarters maintained that the changing nature of counter-terrorism operations could require adjustments to the number of foreign personnel deployed to Nigeria without affecting broader strategic cooperation.
Uba further emphasised that the responsibility for defending Nigeria remained primarily with the country’s own security agencies, while international partnerships were intended to enhance their capabilities.
He said cooperation with the United States had continued to produce useful outcomes in efforts to combat terrorism and other forms of transnational crime.
The military spokesman therefore urged Nigerians and the media not to interpret the troop reduction as evidence of declining defence capacity or deteriorating relations between the two countries.
“We equally call on the media and the Nigerian public to avoid interpreting a routine or mission-specific adjustment in foreign military presence as evidence of a collapse in Nigeria’s security cooperation or national defence capability,” Uba said.
He assured that Nigeria and the United States would continue to collaborate in areas of mutual security interest, particularly intelligence, counter-terrorism, training and technical support.
