Evaluating Nigeria’s Security Partnerships Amid Rising Terror Threats
Throughout 2026, Nigeria has actively diversified its security partnerships, signalling a strategic emphasis on multilateral collaboration to address evolving domestic and regional threats. Most recently, on February 3 2026, the United States, via U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), announced the deployment of a small team of personnel following a bilateral agreement targeting extremist threats. Although specifics regarding the size, composition, and operational scope remain classified, U.S. officials characterised the team as non-combat advisers providing intelligence and training support at the request of the Nigerian Federal Government. This deployment builds on a series of airstrikes and surveillance operations in northern Nigeria in December 2025, indicating a sustained intensification of U.S.–Nigeria counterterrorism cooperation.
Simultaneously, Nigeria has strengthened defence cooperation with France. On February 4 2026, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, met with the French Defence Attaché, Colonel Stéphane Useo, to discuss enhanced capacity building, advanced training, and operational effectiveness. The engagement reflects Nigeria’s intent to align domestic security capabilities with contemporary threats while leveraging international partnerships to bolster institutional resilience.
In Türkiye, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led a high-level delegation, including the Ministers of Interior and Defence and the Chief of Air Staff, from 26–28 January 2026 to advance diplomatic, economic, and security ties. Discussions focused on defence-industrial priorities, including production standards, scalability, sustainability, localisation, and the strategic importance of sovereign capability. The dialogue emphasised technology transfer as a mechanism to enhance Nigeria’s long-term defence self-sufficiency, indicating a deliberate strategy to couple immediate operational needs with broader capacity-building objectives.
It is assessed as credible that Nigeria’s sustained pursuit of international defence partnerships reflects underlying constraints in its capacity to independently address persistent terrorist threats, as attacks and associated fatalities continue to rise. The Federal Government’s engagement with multiple partners demonstrates a pragmatic application of defence diplomacy aimed at modernising domestic forces while maintaining a diversified portfolio of security alliances. The classified nature of U.S. deployments highlights both operational sensitivity and the strategic leverage Nigeria can gain through intelligence-sharing arrangements. Simultaneously, the diversification of partnerships allows Nigeria to access a broader spectrum of military capabilities, training, and technology transfer opportunities, mitigating overreliance on a single ally and enhancing resilience against evolving threats.
External pressures, such as the potential for sanctions or political influence from the United States, further underscore the necessity of these partnerships, while the engagement with Türkiye illustrates Nigeria’s intent to secure sovereign defence capabilities through industrial collaboration and localisation. Overall, Nigeria’s approach reflects a dual strategy: addressing immediate counterterrorism needs via external support while incrementally strengthening long-term domestic defence capacity.
