The deployment, requested by Nigerian authorities, involves MQ-9 Reaper drones capable of loitering at high altitude for more than 27 hours. The aircraft are currently being used exclusively for surveillance, not strike missions.
US and Nigerian officials clarified that the mission is strictly focused on intelligence collection and advisory support. “We see this as a shared security threat,” a US defense official told Reuters. No US personnel are embedded in frontline units.
Major General Samaila Uba, Director of Defence Information at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, confirmed that US forces are operating from Bauchi airfield in the northeast. “This support builds on the newly established U.S.-Nigeria intelligence fusion cell, which continues to deliver actionable intelligence to our field commanders.”
The deployment comes amid escalating violence in Nigeria’s northeast and northwest. On March 16, suicide bombers attacked a garrison town in the northeast, underscoring the continued threat from Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Uba stated: “We continue to assess that these organisations will seek opportunistic targets and may attempt to demonstrate relevance through high-visibility attacks.” The duration of the deployment will be determined in agreement with American partners.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
