The United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling heightened security cooperation between both countries, according to flight tracking data and US officials cited by Reuters.
The surveillance missions, first reported on Monday, could not be independently verified in terms of their specific objectives. However, the operations follow comments by US President Donald Trump in November, when he threatened possible military intervention over what he described as Nigeria’s failure to curb violence against Christian communities.
According to Reuters, the flights also come months after a US pilot working for a missionary organisation was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
Flight tracking data from December shows that the contractor-operated aircraft typically takes off from Ghana, flies over Nigeria, and returns to Accra. The operator was identified as Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a company that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the US military. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Liam Karr, Africa team lead at the Critical Threats Project of the American Enterprise Institute, who analysed the flight data, said the operation appears to be running out of Accra, which he described as “a known hub for the U.S. military’s logistics network in Africa.”
Karr said the flights indicate that Washington may be rebuilding its intelligence and surveillance capabilities in the region following Niger’s decision last year to expel US troops from a key desert air base and deepen security cooperation with Russia.
“In recent weeks, we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” Karr told Reuters.
A former US official said the aircraft was among several assets moved to Ghana by the Trump administration in November. While it remains unclear how many aircraft are stationed there, the official said the missions include 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 (ISWAP).
A current US official confirmed that the aircraft has been flying over Nigeria but declined to provide details, citing diplomatic sensitivity. Another administration official said Washington continues to work with Nigeria to “address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and the destabilising spread 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 activities.
Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment.
Nigerian authorities have consistently maintained that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, arguing that claims of targeted Christian persecution oversimplify a complex security crisis and overlook government 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 United States agreed to deploy air assets for intelligence-gathering operations.
Flight tracking data also 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, shortly after the high-level security meeting, and has since conducted near-daily flights over Nigeria.
The aircraft involved 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 Ahmed Tinubu last month declared a security emergency and ordered mass recruitment into the army and police following a surge in deadly attacks, kidnappings, and the abduction of more than 300 schoolchildren in northern states.
Emma Tochi ✔
Godwin Okafor is the Publisher & CEO of Naija247news Media Group LLC, an independent investigative news platform delivering accurate, data-driven reporting on Nigerian and global politics, economy, finance, and business. Founded in October 2010, Naija247news specializes in developmental journalism, providing timely insights and analysis to readers across Nigeria and the diaspora.
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