The United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to a Reuters report citing flight-tracking data and current and former US officials.
The contractor-operated surveillance aircraft typically departs from Ghana, flies over Nigerian airspace and returns to Accra, the Ghanaian capital, the report said. However, the specific objectives of the flights remain unclear.
A former US official told Reuters that the aircraft is among several military and intelligence assets the administration of President Donald Trump redeployed to Ghana in November.
Ghana serves as a major hub for the US military’s logistics network in Africa. It is not known how many such aircraft are currently stationed there.
Flight-tracking data identified the operator as Tenax Aerospace, a special mission aircraft provider that works closely with the US military.
According to the former official, the missions include efforts to locate a US pilot kidnapped in neighbouring Niger Republic and to collect intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria.
A serving US official also confirmed that surveillance flights have been conducted over Nigeria but declined to provide further details, citing the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter.
Tracking data shows that the Tenax Aerospace aircraft arrived in Ghana on November 24 and has flown over Nigeria almost daily since the operation began. The aircraft is a Gulfstream V, a long-range business jet commonly modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
On November 1, President Trump directed the US Department of War to prepare for “possible action” against what he described as Islamic terrorists in Nigeria. The directive followed Nigeria’s re-designation as a “country of particular concern” by the US over allegations of persecution of Christians.
Trump accused radical Islamist groups of carrying out the “mass slaughter” of Christians in Nigeria and said he would order US troops into the country “guns-a-blazing” to eliminate those responsible.
On November 21, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss the issue. After the meeting, Hegseth said the United States would work “aggressively” with Nigeria to address what he described as the persecution of Christians by jihadist groups.
The meeting coincided with a US congressional hearing on alleged Christian persecution in Nigeria. Weeks later, Congressman Riley Moore said both countries were close to finalising a “strategic security framework” aimed at tackling terrorism in Nigeria, following what he described as a fact-finding visit to the country. No details of the framework were disclosed.
Reuters reported that the surveillance flights come amid growing US-Nigeria security cooperation and follow Trump’s repeated warnings of potential military intervention. They also occur months after a US pilot working for a missionary organisation was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
Nigeria has rejected claims that Christians are being specifically targeted, insisting that armed groups attack both Muslims and Christians and that the violence reflects a broader and complex security crisis.
Nevertheless, Nigerian authorities have agreed to enhanced intelligence cooperation with the United States to combat militant groups, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
President Bola Tinubu last month declared a security emergency and ordered mass recruitment into the armed forces and police following a surge in deadly attacks, kidnappings and mass abductions across several states.
The US has since taken steps against Nigeria, including reinstating it on a religious freedom violations list and imposing partial travel restrictions. Trump had instructed the U.S. Defence Department to prepare for military action in Nigeria if the Tinubu administration fails to curb attacks on Christian communities.
Chigozie IKPO
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