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 exclusive report published on Monday said the purpose of the surveillance missions could not be independently confirmed.
Reuters noted that the flights followed threats by Donald Trump in November to intervene militarily in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to halt violence against Christian communities.
The surveillance operations also come months after a US pilot working for a missionary agency was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
Flight tracking data for December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically took off from Ghana, flew over Nigeria, and returned to Accra.
The data identified the operator as Tenax Aerospace, a Mississippi-based firm that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the US military, according to its website. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
The Africa team lead at the Critical Threats Project of the American Enterprise Institute, Liam Karr, who analysed the flight data, said the operation appeared 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 suggested Washington was rebuilding its intelligence capacity in the region after Niger last year ordered US troops to leave a major desert air base and turned to Russia for security assistance.
“In recent weeks, we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” he told Reuters.
A former US official said the aircraft was among several assets moved to Ghana by the Trump administration in November.
While it was unclear how many aircraft remained there, the official said the missions included tracking the kidnapped US pilot and gathering intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
A current US official confirmed the aircraft had been flying over Nigeria but declined to provide details, citing diplomatic sensitivity.
Another administration official said Washington was continuing to work with Nigeria to “address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and the destabilising spread of terrorism.”
In a statement, the Pentagon said the US government held “productive meetings” with Nigeria following Trump’s message 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.
Nigeria has repeatedly said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, arguing that US claims of Christian persecution oversimplify a complex security situation and overlook efforts to protect religious freedom.
A Nigerian security source told Reuters that the US agreed during a November 20 meeting between National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy air assets for intelligence gathering.
A spokesperson for the Nigerian military did not respond to a request for comment.
Flight tracking data showed the Tenax Aerospace aircraft at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on November 7. MacDill hosts the headquarters of the United States Special Operations Command.
The aircraft later flew to Ghana on November 24, days after the high-level security meeting, and has since flown over Nigeria almost daily.
The aircraft is a Gulfstream V, a long-range business jet commonly modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to the data.