…President Hosts AFRICOM Team Amid Another Weekend of Killings, Abductions in Nigeria
By Abu Adamu
President Bola Tinubu on Sunday received top United States military commanders at the State House, Abuja, as Nigeria reeled from another bloody weekend marked by coordinated attacks, killings and abductions in Benue, Kaduna and other parts of the country.
The meeting came against the backdrop of renewed terrorist violence that left at least 13 people dead in Benue State, three killed and 11 abducted, including a Catholic priest, in Kaduna State, while security forces launched emergency deployments in Ebonyi and other flashpoints.
In Abuja, Tinubu, alongside National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, service chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies, hosted a high-powered US delegation led by the Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin R. Anderson, and the Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Nigeria, Keith Heffern.
The delegation included Command Sergeant Major Garric M. Banfield, Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to AFRICOM, Ambassador Peter Vrooman, as well as senior Nigerian security officials, including the Minister of Defence, retired Gen. Christopher Musa; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt.-Gen. Emmanuel Uandiandeye; the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Mohammed.
A statement by the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, said the engagement focused on strengthening security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in the face of escalating terrorist threats in West Africa.
The meeting followed reports that the United States deployed a small team of troops to Nigeria on February 3, marking its first confirmed on-ground military presence since US airstrikes targeted terrorist positions in Nigeria on Christmas Day 2025, on the orders of President Donald Trump.
General Anderson said the deployment was part of deepening counterterrorism collaboration between both countries, noting that the US team brought “unique capabilities” to support Nigeria’s security efforts. He did not disclose the size or operational scope of the team.
The US had, prior to the December airstrikes, conducted surveillance flights over Nigeria from neighbouring Ghana since at least November 2025, providing intelligence support ahead of the operation.
While the high-level security talks were ongoing in Abuja, violence erupted across several states.
In Benue State, suspected armed herders attacked Anwase market in Kwande Local Government Area, killing 13 people and destroying property. The attack came barely two days after a similar assault on Abande community in the same LGA, where at least 16 persons, including a mobile police officer, were reportedly killed.
An aide to the Kwande LGA Chairman, Ibi Andrew, confirmed the market attack, saying the council chairman, Vitalis Neji, alongside security agencies, moved swiftly to the area to restore calm. The state police command was yet to issue an official confirmation.
However, the Benue Police Command announced the arrest of a suspect and the recovery of 117 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition in Ukum LGA. The Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, said the suspect, identified as Saamoga, also known as Aleki, was intercepted during a stop-and-search operation while allegedly transporting ammunition concealed in socks inside a handbag.
According to police, the suspect confessed that the ammunition was being conveyed to Taraba State. He was later taken to hospital for treatment after sustaining a gunshot injury but reportedly died while receiving medical attention. The command also said it repelled another attack by suspected armed herders in Apa LGA.
In Kaduna State, three people were killed and 11 others abducted, including a Catholic priest, during an early morning attack on Karku community in Kauru Local Government Area.
The Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, Very Rev. Fr. Jacob Shanet, confirmed that the parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Karku, Rev. Fr. Nathaniel Asuwaye, was abducted alongside 10 residents. He identified those killed as Jacob Dan’azumi, Maitala Kaura and Alhaji Kusari, describing the incident as a “terrorist invasion” that occurred around 3:20am.
The attack came barely two days after Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, received 172 Christian worshippers earlier abducted in Kajuru LGA.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged President Tinubu to urgently establish a fully equipped military base in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State to counter persistent bandit attacks linked to nearby forest reserves.
The Chairman of CAN in Niger State and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Bulus Yohanna, said over 300 people had reportedly been killed in Agwara and Borgu LGAs, with many abducted and properties destroyed.
Echoing the call, Prince Murtala Haliru-Dantoro, a son of the late Emir of Borgu, warned that continued attacks could wipe out the history, culture and livelihoods of the Borgu Kingdom, reminding Tinubu of his traditional title of Jagaban Borgu and urging urgent federal intervention.
In the South-East, the Nigerian Army confirmed the deployment of troops in a joint security operation in Amasiri and surrounding communities in Afikpo North LGA of Ebonyi State, following the killing and beheading of four persons and the discovery of shallow graves containing mutilated bodies.
The Army said the operation, involving the police, DSS and NSCDC, was intelligence-led and aimed at restoring peace, enforcing a state-imposed curfew and dismantling criminal networks exploiting communal tensions.
As Nigeria confronts yet another surge in violence, observers say the convergence of intensified US-Nigeria security cooperation and deepening domestic insecurity has placed renewed focus on the Tinubu administration’s counterterrorism strategy, at a moment when blood continues to be spilled across multiple fronts.