Details of the security deal between Nigeria and the United States joint effort in the fight against terrorism are emerging,
The Wall Street Journal had reported on Tuesday that that the US was deploying an additional 200 troops to Nigeria in the fight against jihadist groups.
The Federal Government through the Defence Headquarters was initially not forthcoming with the details of the deal, as the spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Major General Samaila Uba said the Americans soldiers would be training the Nigerian military, and that they would also be forthcoming with intelligence gathering and sharing with their Nigerian counterparts.
Uba told Reuters that “these personnel do not serve in a combat capacity and will not assume a direct operational role. Nigerian forces retain full command authority, make all operational decisions and will lead all missions on Nigerian sovereign territory.”
“We are getting US troops to assist in training and technical support,” Major General Samaila Uba, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, told AFP.
However, an official privy to the deal between both countries told TheCable that the US wants to have a station in Nigeria where they can refuel their drones after trips from Accra.
A US Africa Command spokesperson confirmed the details of the report to AFP.
The report revealed that talks on the deal have reached advanced stage and a North-eastern state was being considered as host station.
“We’re not going to have boots on the ground. We’re not going to have a military leg operation. They are only going to support Nigeria either in equipment or intelligence or something like that, not in a fighting capacity,” the official told TheCable.
“It would possibly be an advisory capacity — maybe training or things like that — which are already ongoing,” adding that the US proposed Lagos or Abuja, which was rebuffed on sensitive grounds.
The report said the north-east was chosen because it hosts Nigeria’s drone operations.
The station would allow When US officials fly in from Ghana, they would land in the station which is the hub for America’s military logistics network in Africa. to strategise on supporting Nigerian troops.
Drones can be refuelled in multiple ways, depending on their design and fuel type, extending their operational range beyond battery or fuel limits.
Most consumer and commercial drones (battery-powered or fuel-based) are routinely recharged or refuelled on the ground at stations.
Hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for example, use methods like blowdown filling from high-pressure sources or boost compression to top up compressed tanks quickly.
Nigeria has been under diplomatic pressure from the United States over insecurity in the country, which US President Donald Trump has characterised as “persecution” and “genocide” against Christians.
The Federal Government has continually denied the allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria, a framing long used by the US religious right.
