About 100 US soldiers have arrived in Nigeria to train the West African nation’s armed forces and help them with intelligence in their battle against growing security threats from Islamist militants and other armed groups.

The troops and equipment had landed at an airfield in the north-eastern state of Bauchi, Nigerian defence spokesperson Maj Gen Samaila Uba said.

He reiterated that the US personnel would not be engaging in combat operations and had come at the request of the government.

This is the latest sign of military co-operation between the two countries following the Christmas Day airstrikes launched by the US on two camps run by an Islamist militant group in north-western Nigeria.

The government said it had asked for help in tackling Islamist militant groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap) as well as other groups.

Nigeria faces an array of security challenges including an Islamist insurgency, attacks by criminal gangs – known locally as “bandits” who loot and kidnap for ransom – clashes over land and separatist unrest.

“The collaboration will provide access to specialised technical capabilities aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s ability to deter terrorist threats and enhance the protection of vulnerable communities across the country,” Maj Gen Samaila Uba said in a statement.

The deployment came after discussions between Nigerian and US defence officials during a working group, he explained.

It also follows confirmation earlier this month by the US Africa Command that a small team of American forces was already operating in the country. Nigerian military officials had previously indicated that around 200 additional troops were expected.

Late last year, the administration of US President Donald Trump raised concerns about the treatment of Christians in Nigeria – and urged the government to do more to improve security and strengthen protection for Christian communities.

Trump had previously claimed there was a “Christian genocide” under way in Nigeria – an allegation strongly rejected by Nigeria’s government, which said Muslims, Christians and people of no faith were victims of attacks.

Nigeria’s government has expressed its thanks for US aid in tackling security issues and emphasised the strikes on 25 December, which targeted an Islamist militant group called Lakurawa in the northern-western state of Sokoto, were approved by President Bola Tinubu.

There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, which is roughly divided into a mainly Muslim north, a largely Christian south, with intermingling in the middle.

The family of ex-Zambian President Edgar Lungu, who died in South Africa last June and is yet to be buried, have dismissed allegations he was poisoned.

South African police also want custody of his body as part of their investigations, according to the late politician’s family.

In a letter to the police, seen by the BBC, their lawyers say the family are co-operating with “criminal proceedings”, but maintain the allegations are “unfounded and unsupported by credible evidence”.

It is the latest twist over the fate of Lungu’s body, which remains in a morgue in South Africa and has been subject to an ongoing legal battle between his family and Zambia’s government over where he should be buried.

South Africa’s police service has refused to comment on the letter sent by the Johannesburg law firm Mashele Attorneys, which is representing the Lungu family.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe told the BBC: “This is a very sensitive matter that cannot be discussed at this stage.”

Lungu died of an undisclosed illness aged 68 at a clinic in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. He had led Zambia from 2015 until 2021, when he lost elections by a huge margin to current President Hakainde Hichilema.

The Zambian government wants Lungu’s remains to be repatriated and given a state funeral, with full state honours – and a South African court ruled in its favour in August.

But Lungu’s family want a private burial in South Africa as they say the former president had not wanted Hichilema to attend his funeral. The relationship between the two politicians had long been fraught.

In the letter to the South African police, dated 11 February 2026, Mashele Attorneys confirmed that on behalf of the Lungu family it had “complied with the five subpoenas issued” in relation to a criminal probe looking into allegations that the former Zambian president was poisoned.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is our clients’ instruction that the allegations underlying the criminal case are denied,” the letter said.

Neo Mashele, from Mashele Attorneys, told the BBC the investigation by police appeared to be based on a “public utterance” about a poisoning allegation made by one of Lungu’s daughters that was “absolutely not true”.

In its letter, Mashele Attorneys also raised concern over another subpoena it said had been issued by police to the funeral home looking after Lungu’s body.

It said there were two High Court orders that directed that “possession and custody of the body remain with Two Mountains Funeral Services pending the finalisation of the legal proceedings”.

“Those orders are binding and operative,” the letter said.

An official from the morgue where the remains are being stored told the BBC that Lungu’s body was “under tight security [and] surveillance 24/7”.

Mrs Lungu has remained in South Africa since the death of her husband and is leading legal efforts to have him buried in South Africa.

Last week she filed a notice at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein to overturn the earlier ruling that her husband’s body be sent back home.

BBC -Three South Africans have been charged with murder following the killing of an e-hailing taxi driver, the manner of whose death, captured on dashcam footage, has shocked many people.

A video shared widely on social media shows a man and a woman tussling with the driver, Isaac Satlat, who they appeared to be robbing. Satlat tries to fight back before one of the passengers appears to strangle him until he goes limp.

The trio, who were arrested over the weekend, were in court in Pretoria on Monday and have since abandoned their bail applications. They were not asked to comment on the charges.

A fourth suspect later handed himself over to police on Monday.

He will appear in court on Tuesday, police said in a brief update after Dikeledi Mphela, 24, Goitsione Machidi, 25 and McClaren Mushwana, 30 made a brief appearance. All four also face robbery charges.

Satlat, 22, was a Nigerian national but, in a country that has often been blighted by xenophobic violence, his family said the attack was not linked to his nationality.

According to prosecutors, the accused ordered a ride on e-hailing platform Bolt last Wednesday using a number not registered in any of their names.

When the car arrived, Mphela and the fourth suspect allegedly got into the car while Machidi and Mushwana followed them in a separate car, authorities added.

They then “forced the deceased to stop the vehicle, strangled him to death and robbed him of his cell phone and vehicle which was later recovered”, the prosecuting authority’s spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.

There has been a growing number of reports of e-hailing drivers coming under attack in South Africa, with many drivers calling for greater protection, as the country grapples with high crime levels and one of the highest murder rates in the world.

The e-hailing partners’ council condemned Satlat’s killing, adding that it was not an “isolated incident”.

The organisation praised the role that the dashcam footage and social media played in capturing his murder but reiterated calls for “preventative security measures” to better protect drivers.

It also called on e-hailing companies to “vet and verify passengers to prevent criminals masquerading as customers”.

Numerous political parties and e-hailing drivers gathered outside the court house on Monday to protest against Satlat’s murder.

One driver called for the government to set up a task team to deal with the attacks on them, according to local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.

He also called for the establishment of a system to compensate the families of drivers killed on the job. Spokesperson for the Satlat family Solomon Izang Ashoms said his relatives were left with unanswered questions.

“His dad is struggling, we’re very afraid for [him] because his blood pressure’s been shooting up [since the death],” Ashoms said.

The case against the three was postponed to next Monday.