The United States has deployed multiple MQ-9 Reaper drones and approximately 200 troops to Nigeria to strengthen the fight against Islamist militants, according to US and Nigerian officials who spoke to Reuters.

US officials said the deployed personnel are not embedded with Nigerian frontline forces, while the drones are being used strictly for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, with no involvement in airstrikes.

The development follows the closure of a major US drone base in Niger in 2024. The facility, valued at about $100 million, previously hosted around 1,000 troops and played a key role in monitoring militant activities across the Sahel before the country’s military government ordered American forces to withdraw.

A US defence official said the latest deployment was made at Nigeria’s request and is focused primarily on enhancing intelligence-gathering capabilities.

“We see this as a shared security threat,” the official said.

Confirming the arrangement, Major General Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, disclosed that the US assets are being operated from an airfield in Bauchi in the North-East.

He noted that the collaboration builds on a newly established US-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which has been providing actionable intelligence to field commanders.

“Our US partners remain in a strictly non-combat role, enabling operations led by Nigerian authorities,” Uba said.