The United States has been conducting intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large areas of Nigeria since late November, according to flight tracking data and current and former US officials, Reuters reported exclusively on Monday.
The report noted that the surveillance flights signalled closer security cooperation between the two countries and heightened diplomatic tensions.
According to Reuters, the purpose of the flights could not be independently determined. However, they follow threats made in November by US President Donald Trump to intervene militarily in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to halt violence against Christian communities.
The foreign media added that the operations also come months after a US pilot working for a missionary organisation was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
Flight tracking data for December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically “departs from Ghana, flies over Nigeria and then returns to Accra,” Reuters reported.
The aircraft is operated by “Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace”, a company that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the US military, according to its website. Tenax Aerospace did not respond to requests for comment, it stated.
The Africa team lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, Liam Karr, said his analysis of the flight data indicated the operation was being run out of Accra, a known logistics hub for the US military in Africa.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” Karr said in an interview as reported by Reuters.
Karr said the flights appeared to signal that Washington was rebuilding intelligence capacity in the region after Niger ordered US troops to leave a major air base last year and instead sought security assistance from Russia.
Reuters added that a former US official said the aircraft was among several assets the Trump administration moved to Ghana in November.
While it was unclear how many aircraft remained there, the former official said the missions included efforts to locate the kidnapped US pilot and to collect intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province.
The report further explained that a current US official confirmed that the aircraft has been flying over Nigeria but declined to provide further details, citing diplomatic sensitivities.
Another administration official said Washington was continuing to work with Nigeria to “address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and the destabilising spread of terrorism.” All officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the US government had held productive meetings with Nigerian officials following Trump’s message to the country but declined to discuss intelligence activities. Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters added.
The Federal Government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, arguing that US claims of Christian persecution oversimplify a complex security situation and overlook government efforts to protect religious freedom. Nigeria has nevertheless agreed to work with Washington to strengthen its response to militant threats.
The report further revealed that a security source in Nigeria said the US agreed during a Nov. 20 meeting between the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy air assets for intelligence gathering. The source spoke on condition of anonymity.
Flight tracking data show that the Tenax Aerospace aircraft was seen at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Nov. 7 before flying to Ghana on Nov. 24, shortly after the high-level security talks. The aircraft, identified as a Gulfstream V business jet often modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, has flown over Nigeria almost daily since the operation began.
