President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday held a high-level security meeting at the State House in Abuja with Dagvin Anderson, the commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), and Keith Heffern, the chargé d’affaires of the US embassy in Nigeria, as both countries continue to strengthen cooperation on security and defence.
Gatekeepers News reports that the meeting, which also included Peter Vrooman, AFRICOM’s foreign policy adviser, and Garric Banfield, AFRICOM’s senior enlisted leader, focused on deepening military collaboration, intelligence sharing, and joint efforts to address terrorism, banditry, and other security threats across Nigeria and the wider West African region.
Tinubu received the delegation alongside top Nigerian security officials, including Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser; Mohammed Mohammed, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency; Tosin Ajayi, director-general of the Department of State Service; Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Olufemi Oluyede, chief of defence staff; Waidi Shaibu, chief of army staff; and Emmanuel Uandiandeye, chief of defence intelligence.
The visit comes shortly after Anderson disclosed that the United States had deployed a small team of military personnel to Nigeria as part of renewed security cooperation agreements between both countries.
He explained that the deployment followed earlier discussions with Tinubu during a meeting in Rome, Italy, late last year, where both sides explored ways to enhance counterterrorism operations and regional stability.
In recent weeks, the US has increased diplomatic and security engagement with Nigeria. Allison Hooker, the US under-secretary of state, had earlier led a delegation comprising representatives from eight federal agencies to Abuja for a bilateral working group meeting with Nigerian security officials.
The Nigerian delegation at that meeting was led by Ribadu, with discussions centred on intelligence collaboration, border security, and strategies to combat insurgency and organised crime.
The latest meeting at the State House further reflects ongoing efforts by both governments to strengthen strategic ties and coordinate responses to growing security challenges, especially in northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, where militant groups and criminal networks remain active.
