US Military Draws Up Nigeria Intervention Plans

*AFRICOM’s new commander expected to visit Nigeria later this month for previously scheduled meetings with senior officials in Abuja

The Pentagon has drawn up a range of potential military options for intervention in Nigeria after President Trump ordered the U.S. military to prepare to protect Christians from attacks by Islamic militants, the New York Times reports. But senior defence officials acknowledge that any American action is unlikely to end the decades-long insurgency tearing through Africa’s most populous country.
Quoting officials familiar with the deliberations, the report said the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) this week submitted three escalating plans, described as light, medium, and heavy, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. The proposals range from supporting Nigerian forces on the ground to possible airstrikes against militant strongholds in the country’s north.
Despite the president’s directive, military planners have warned that the United States has few viable options that could make a lasting impact without committing to a large-scale, Iraq- or Afghanistan-style campaign, something no one in Washington appears willing to contemplate.
“It would be a fiasco,” said Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army officer who helped oversee counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq, adding it would be like “pounding a pillow.”
The latest plans follow Mr. Trump’s social media post over the weekend in which he declared that he had instructed the “Department of War” to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly echoed the message online, replying, “Yes, Sir.”
Within hours, AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, began compiling plans for possible military action, dusting off old contingency options for the Sahel region. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, AFRICOM’s new commander, is expected to visit Nigeria later this month for previously scheduled meetings with senior officials in Abuja.
Under the light option, the U.S. would provide logistical, intelligence, and advisory support to Nigerian forces combating Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants. Such operations would be conducted in coordination with the State Department but without the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, whose office in Abuja was shuttered in July amid administration cutbacks.
Officials caution that the northern Nigerian conflict defies simple sectarian explanations. While militants have targeted Christians, they have also attacked Muslim communities accused of collaborating with the government. Much of the violence is rooted in decades of land-use disputes between farmers and herders, deepened by corruption and weak governance.
The report said medium option envisions drone strikes on insurgent compounds and convoys in northern Nigeria using MQ-9 Reapers or MQ-1 Predators. However, such operations face logistical hurdles: the United States vacated its two key drone bases in neighboring Niger in August, and Russian forces now occupy them. Without those facilities, American drones would have to fly from southern Europe or Djibouti, significantly reducing their effectiveness.
According to the report, the heavy option, which is the most aggressive scenario, would involve deploying an aircraft carrier group to the Gulf of Guinea to support strikes deep inside Nigeria. But with U.S. naval assets already stretched across the Pacific, Middle East, and Caribbean, such a move would divert resources from other strategic priorities. Officials said that as recently as last week, Nigeria was not considered a top-tier national security concern.
Even the most forceful plans, military officials concede, would likely have limited effect. Airstrikes might inflict damage on known militant camps but would do little to stabilize Nigeria’s deeply entrenched conflicts.
Previous U.S. administrations have provided Nigeria with intelligence and training but stopped short of selling advanced weapons due to concerns over human rights abuses by Nigerian forces.