According to The Nation, the US government said that its personnel would not take part in combat operations and would be armed only for self-defense in operations against the insurgents.
The efforts by US government to give Nigeria military assistance have been hampered by concerns about human rights abuses carried out by the country’s military.
READ ALSO: US Vice President Advises Buhari On How To Combat Boko Haram Effectively
Both Nigeria and Cameroon have welcomed the decision by the US government.
The spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, said that the deployment of troops was a welcome development.
Until recently the US has shied away from engaging its military assets to combat Boko Haram, with policymakers wary of fueling militant recruitment or fusing the group’s ties with Middle Eastern Islamists.
President Buhari held talks with his American counterpart on terrorism about two months ago during his trip to US.
The decision by the US government is coming at a time when the insurgents steadily expand operations beyond its traditional base in the Northeast, conducting attacks in Cameroon and Chad that have killed dozens.
National intelligence services are best known for monitoring the activities of the domestic opposition, rather than tackling threats from the likes of Boko Haram, whose violence has uprooted about 2.5 million people.
The US government last year provided the country with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance expertise in the rescuing more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram from their school.
READ ALSO: Why Boko Haram Violence Persists
In the same vein, President Buhari has said he will not resign if he does not fulfill his promise of defeating Boko Haram by December 2015.
In a recent interview with Al-Jazeera, he acknowledged that he would be willing to negotiate with the Boko Haram group to secure the release of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.
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