The United States is reported to have stepped up intelligence-gathering flights over parts of Nigeria, weeks after former U.S. President Donald Trump issued strong warnings over insecurity in the country.
According to an exclusive report by Reuters, flight tracking data and information from current and former U.S. officials indicate that the surveillance operations have been ongoing since late November, pointing to intensified security engagement between Washington and Abuja.
The report, published on Monday, said the exact objective of the flights could not be independently verified.
However, the operations are said to follow Trump’s November comments, in which he accused the Nigerian government of failing to curb violence against Christian communities and threatened possible military action.
Flight data from December shows that the aircraft involved usually takes off from Ghana, flies across Nigerian airspace, and returns to Accra.
The plane is operated by Tenax Aerospace, a Mississippi-based firm that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the U.S. military.
The company was said not to have responded to requests for comment.
An analyst with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, Liam Karr, who reviewed the flight data, said the missions appear to be coordinated from Accra, which he described as a key logistics hub for U.S. military activities in Africa.
Karr explained that the renewed surveillance flights may signal efforts by Washington to rebuild intelligence capacity in the region, following Niger’s decision last year to expel U.S. forces from a major air base and deepen security ties with Russia.
A former U.S. official told Reuters that the aircraft was among several assets relocated to Ghana in November, adding that the missions included tracking a kidnapped U.S. pilot and monitoring militant groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP.
A serving U.S. official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that surveillance flights had taken place over Nigeria but declined further details, citing diplomatic concerns.
Another official said the United States continues to work with Nigeria to tackle religious violence and terrorism.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it held what it described as productive engagements with Nigerian authorities following Trump’s remarks but declined to comment on intelligence-related activities.
Efforts to obtain reactions from Nigeria’s military authorities and Ghana’s deputy defence minister were unsuccessful, Reuters reported.