US is reportedly conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria amid rising insecurity and renewed security cooperation.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling intensified security cooperation between Washington and Abuja, according to flight-tracking data and US officials cited by Reuters.
The exclusive report published on Monday said the precise objective of the surveillance missions could not be independently verified. However, the development comes weeks after US President Donald Trump threatened military intervention in Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to stop violence against Christian communities.
ALSO: Rarara Joins Pro-Tinubu Campaign, Supports Southwest Arewa Renewed Hope Initiative
Reuters noted that the surveillance flights also follow the kidnapping of a US pilot working for a missionary organisation in neighbouring Niger earlier this year, a development that heightened security concerns in the region.
Flight-tracking data for December showed that the aircraft involved typically departs from Ghana, flies over Nigerian airspace, and returns to Accra. The operator was identified as Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a firm that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the US military, according to its website. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Liam Karr, Africa team lead at the Critical Threats Project of the American Enterprise Institute, analysed the data and said the operation appeared to be run out of Accra, which he described as a key logistics hub for US military activities in Africa.
Karr said the flights suggested Washington was rebuilding its intelligence and surveillance capacity in West Africa following Niger’s decision last year to expel US troops from a major desert air base and deepen security ties with Russia. “In recent weeks, we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” he told Reuters.
A former US official said the aircraft was among several assets relocated to Ghana by the Trump administration in November. While the number of aircraft involved remains unclear, the official said the missions included tracking the kidnapped US pilot and gathering intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province.
A current US official confirmed that surveillance flights had been conducted over Nigeria but declined to provide details, citing diplomatic sensitivities. Another administration official said Washington continued to work with Nigeria to address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and the growing threat of terrorism.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the US government held “productive meetings” with Nigerian authorities following Trump’s comments on the country but declined to comment on intelligence operations. Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment.
Nigerian authorities have repeatedly maintained that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, arguing that claims of Christian persecution oversimplify the country’s complex security challenges and downplay efforts to protect religious freedom.
A Nigerian security source told Reuters that during a November 20 meeting between National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the US agreed to deploy air assets to support intelligence-gathering efforts. A spokesperson for the Nigerian military did not respond to a request for comment.
Flight data showed the Tenax Aerospace aircraft at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on November 7. MacDill hosts the headquarters of the US Special Operations Command. The aircraft later flew to Ghana on November 24, days after the high-level security meeting, and has since conducted near-daily flights over Nigeria.
The aircraft is a Gulfstream V, a long-range business jet commonly modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
The development comes amid worsening insecurity in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu last month declared a security emergency and ordered mass recruitment into the army and police following deadly attacks, widespread kidnappings and the abduction of more than 300 schoolchildren in several northern states.
