US allocates $413m for counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria, West Africa

The United States has approved $413 million (about N587 billion) for counter-insurgency and security operations in Nigeria and other African countries in 2026, as violence from insurgency and banditry continues spreading across West Africa.

The funding is part of the US National Defence Authorisation Act for 2026, which President Donald Trump signed into law on December 18, 2025.

The money falls under Operation and Maintenance for the United States Africa Command, known as AFRICOM. The command got the full amount it requested, though the Act doesn’t break down how much goes to each country or operation.

The approval comes as the US steps up military involvement in Nigeria. On Tuesday, AFRICOM delivered military equipment to Nigerian security agencies, just weeks after US forces conducted air strikes on terrorist hideouts in Sokoto State on Christmas Day.

The 2026 defence authorisation law approves $901 billion in total US defence spending and includes a four per cent pay raise for American troops. It’s the 65th year in a row the United States has passed an annual defence authorisation.

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The AFRICOM budget is primarily because insecurity across West Africa keeps getting worse. Nigeria faces insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Elsewhere in the region, jihadist violence has intensified in Mali, while northern Benin is seeing spillover from the Sahel.

Under the same operations and maintenance budget, the Act approved $385.7 million for US European Command, $224.9 million for US Southern Command, $77 million for US Forces Korea, $331.4 million for cyberspace operations and $550 million for cybersecurity. Total spending for operating forces in this category is nearly $40 billion.

Beyond military spending, the Act also creates an Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the State Department, along with a new Bureau of African Affairs.

The bureau will oversee US foreign policy and assistance across sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting Washington’s growing focus on the continent.

The law also requires a full assessment of Russia’s military strategy, force posture and overseas bases in Africa, including how Moscow’s activities might affect US military planning under AFRICOM, Central Command and European Command.

Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe is a writer and journalist who covers business, finance, technology, and the changing forces shaping Nigeria’s economy. He focuses on turning complex ideas into clear, compelling stories.

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