Fear grips Nigerians as Flight tracking data have revealed that the United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to a report by Reuters.
The report suggests that the operations point to renewed security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, coming at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Although the exact purpose of the flights could not be independently confirmed, Reuters noted that they followed comments made in November by US President Donald Trump, who threatened possible military intervention in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to curb violence against Christian communities.
The surveillance activities also come months after a US pilot working for a missionary organization was kidnapped in neighboring Niger, further raising regional security concerns.
Reuters said flight tracking data for December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically departs from Ghana, flies over Nigerian airspace, and returns to Accra. The aircraft is reportedly operated by Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a company known for providing special mission aircraft and working closely with the US military.
Liam Karr, Africa team lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, said his analysis of the flight data indicated that the operation was being run from Accra, a recognized logistics hub for US military activities in Africa.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” Karr told Reuters.
He added that the flights appeared to signal efforts by Washington to rebuild its intelligence capabilities in the region following Niger’s decision last year to order US troops to leave a key air base and instead seek security support from Russia.
