President Bola Tinubu hosted a high-level delegation from the United States Africa Command, led by Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Sunday.
Following the airstrikes on terrorist facilities in Sokoto State on Christmas Day, Nigeria and the US have increased their security collaboration.
The State House media office confirmed this in a terse pictorial press release sent to journalists Sunday evening.
The meeting occurs months after US President Donald Trump labeled Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
The conference was also attended by Keith Heffern, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Nigeria; Command Sergeant Major Garric M. Banfield, AFRICOM’s Command Senior Enlisted Leader; and Amb. Peter Vrooman, AFRICOM’s Senior Foreign Policy Adviser.
On the Nigerian side, President Tinubu was joined by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Minister of Defense, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.); the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Waidi Shaibu; and the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Uandiandeye.
The Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, were also there.
The visit comes after the December 25 precision strikes in Sokoto State, which AFRICOM confirmed were conducted “at the direction of the President of the United States and the Secretary of War, and in coordination with Nigerian authorities.”
The strikes targeted Islamic State fighters in Tangaza’s Bauni forest.
In October 2025, Trump classified Nigeria as a CPC under the International Religious Freedom Act, alleging the government of allowing “severe violations of religious freedom” and the “mass slaughter” of Christians by “radical Islamists.”
He then threatened military intervention if the killings persisted.
The Federal Government refuted the assertion, claiming that terrorist groups target Nigerians of all faiths.
The Tinubu administration reportedly paid $9 million to DCI Group, a lobbying firm located in the United States, to emphasize its attempts to safeguard Christian communities while maintaining American support for counterterrorism operations in West Africa.
Some US politicians have criticized the contract, which was signed in December 2025 by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The United States has stated that it will strengthen security cooperation with Nigeria following Ribadu’s travel to Washington in November 2025 for consultations with Pentagon officials.
AFRICOM stated that it continues to share intelligence and conduct joint operations with the Nigerian military.
