By Suleiman Umaru and Lateef Adegbite
When the trio of Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Asari Dokubo, a one-time Niger Delta militant and now Amanyanabo of Torusarama Piri in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, had said they would not keep their eyes open and watch American troops being deployed to Nigeria to fight alongside Nigerian troops against banditry and terrorism, just as Sheikh Gumi of the North had said that he would not be alive to see that happen.
Dokubo, who has been appointed as the President-General of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs for the South-East and South regions, may have given Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, and Sheikh Gumi the impression that he is in full support of the activities of bandit groups, Boko Haram and ISWAP, as he had declared his opposition against the deployment of US troops to Nigeria to address the country’s insecurity.
The duo of Sultan Abubakar and Sheikh Gumi, in particular, had emphasised that the bandit groups: Ansaru, Lakurawa, Mahmuda, which have links with Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), a jihadist group based in Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and Mali, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP), are “our brothers,” and Nigerians are okay with them, meaning that the American troops have no reason to be in Nigeria and that their presence would aggravate the security challenges of the country.
Given that the American President had declared Nigeria as a country of particular concern because of the planned Islamisation of the country and the killings and kidnapping activities in the North-Western states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna and Katsina, the North-Central states of Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Niger and Kogi, including the North-Eastern states of Borno and Yobe, and the imprisonment of Nnamdi Kanu, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, on trumped-up charges of terrorism activities, may have informed why the American President had moved fast to give the greenlight to Gen. Dagvin R. M. Anderson, Commander of the US Military African Command (AFRICOM), with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, to deploy troops to Nigeria to help in the fight against banditry and terrorism, to secure the lives of innocent Nigerians, both Christians and Muslims, in different parts of the country.
The December bombing of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-linked Bauni camp in Sokoto State may have forced Turji Bello’s coordinated bandit group in the state to scatter to the southern part of Nigerian forests to continue their attacks and kidnapping operations, which have been witnessed in recent times in Ondo, Ekiti, Delta and Bayelsa states. They were said to have also spread their tentacles to Liberia and other countries in the West African sub-region, including Equatorial Guinea, while some others relocated to the Sahel region to join their contemporaries in the JNIM group to sustain the jihadist war in the Sahel region.
President Trump may have made the trio of Sultan Abubakar, Sheikh Gumi and other sympathisers of jihadist groups in Nigeria, including some members of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), including Dokubo, understand that no matter their opposition, there is no going back on the deployment of American troops to Nigeria to help in the fight against banditry and terrorism.
True to his words, as part of US bilateral cooperation with Nigeria, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Gen. Anderson, at the instance of President Trump, deployed some forces which touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory ,FCT,, before relocating to other parts of the country for their primary assignment to address banditry, terrorism and other related security threats in the West African nation.
Gen. Anderson, who is working closely with Gen. Christopher Musa, Minister of Defence and the Service Chiefs, may have kept Nigerians guessing, as he was said to have kept the size and mission details of the AFRICOM force in Nigeria undisclosed, but described it as a small contingent with unique capabilities provided by the US Department of War. An elated Gen. Anderson had said that the deployment of the small contingent, which brought some unique capabilities from the US military to Nigeria, was a clear indication of increased collaboration between the two nations.
It would be recalled that the air wing of AFRICOM had conducted surveillance flights over the country from the West African country of Ghana, with the approval of John Dramani Mahama, the country’s leader, since late November 2025. This may have informed why the US military had found the Guinea Coast a convenient location to launch airstrikes against bandit and terrorist gang locations in flashpoint states in Nigeria.
Gen. Musa, the Nigerian Minister of Defence, who could not hide his feelings, had confirmed that the US is operating in Nigeria but declined to give further details, just as he ordered Nigerian soldiers to shoot on sight any bandit group: Ansaru, Lakurawa and Mahmuda or Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents and armed herdsmen found at any location molesting innocent farmers.
His matching order to Nigerian troops to shoot on sight any bandits or terrorist fighters shows a remarkable difference between Presidents Tinubu and Buhari. For the eight years the Katsina State-born politician ruled Nigeria, he was said to have allegedly protected the interests of armed herdsmen, bandit groups, Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters, as he never allowed the troops to deal decisively with criminal elements to avoid stepping on powerful toes in the North.
It was not surprising why armed herdsmen, bandit groups, Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters could carry out their attacks in communities in flashpoint states, including military barracks, with impunity, as if the country belonged to them.
Many believe that the American President has ulterior motives for insisting on deploying troops to Nigeria to help fight banditry and terrorism activities in the country, as the trio of Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, President of the Alliance for Sahel States (AES) Confederation and interim President of Burkina Faso, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani of Niger Republic, and Gen. Assimi Goïta of Mali had turned down his request to assist Sahel countries in fighting terrorism in the region.
The American President may have given Nigerians cause to worry, as US forces were said to have invaded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, now baptised as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by the National Assembly and its signing into law by deceased former President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2021, at its headquarters in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.
The US forces, who may have acted unilaterally without President Tinubu’s approval, were said to have ordered Nigerian oil workers to vacate the premises without waiting to be forced out.
Acting out a script, the American troops, who were said to be taking instructions from Gen. Anderson, the Commander of AFRICOM, who in turn takes instructions from the US Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the US Armed Forces, had indicted past and present Nigerian governments, alleging that “proceeds from Nigerian oil sales are being used to finance banditry and terrorism in the country.”
There are indications that President Trump had declared, to the hearing of Tinubu, the National Assembly leadership and other lawmakers, “that any activity or revenue channel that adds money to the various bandit groups or terrorist organisations, comprising Boko Haram, ISWAP, ISIS or JNIM operating in the Sahel region, will be banned without exception.”
