The United States has reportedly been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to flight tracking data and current and former U.S. officials.
This signalled increased security cooperation between the two countries after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action against terrorists in Nigeria.
While it has not been determined what specific information the flights are intended to collect, the U.S. surveillance operations in Nigeria followed President Trump’s threats in November to militarily intervene in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to halt violence targeting Christian communities.
The surveillance operations are also taking place months after a U.S. pilot working for a missionary agency was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
According to flight tracking data from December, the contractor-operated aircraft typically departs from Ghana, flies over Nigeria, and returns to Accra, the Ghanaian capital, according to Reuters.
Flight tracking data identifies the operator as Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a company that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the U.S. military, according to its website.
Tenax Aerospace did not respond to a request for comment.
Liam Karr, Africa Team Lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, said he analysed the flight data and concluded that the operation appeared to be running from an airport in Accra, a known hub for the U.S. military’s logistics network in Africa.
Karr said the flights were an early indication that Washington was rebuilding its regional capacity after Niger last year ordered U.S. troops to leave a sprawling, newly built desert air base and instead turned to Russia for security assistance.
“In recent weeks, we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” Karr said in an interview.
A former U.S. 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 still based in Ghana, the former official said the missions include tracking the kidnapped U.S. pilot and gathering intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province.
A current U.S. official confirmed that the aircraft has been flying over Nigeria but declined to provide details due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter.
Another administration official said Washington was continuing to work with Nigeria to “address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and the destabilizing spread of terrorism.”
All the U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the U.S. government held productive meetings with Nigeria following Trump’s message about the country, but declined to comment on intelligence matters.
Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment.
Nigeria’s government has maintained that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, arguing that U.S. claims of Christian persecution fail to reflect the country’s complex security challenges and overlook efforts to protect religious freedom.
Nevertheless, Abuja has agreed to work with Washington to strengthen its forces against militant groups.
Nigeria’s population is roughly divided between Muslims, mainly in the north, and Christians in the south.
A Nigerian security source said the U.S. agreed during a November 20 meeting between Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy air assets for intelligence gathering. A spokesperson for the Nigerian military did not respond to follow-up requests.
Flight tracking data shows the Tenax Aerospace aircraft was spotted on November 7 at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, home to the U.S. Special Operations Command, before flying to Ghana on November 24, days after the high-level U.S.-Nigeria security meeting.
The aircraft, identified as a Gulfstream V long-range business jet often modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, has flown over Nigeria almost daily since the operation began.
The surveillance comes amid worsening insecurity in Nigeria.
