US Conducts Surveillance Flights Over Nigeria Amid Security Concerns
The United States has been conducting intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large areas of Nigeria since late November, according to flight tracking data and current and former US officials. The flights are reportedly aimed at gathering intel on militant groups, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, and locating a kidnapped US pilot in neighboring Niger.
The surveillance operation is being run out of Accra, Ghana, a known hub for the US military’s logistics network in Africa. The aircraft, a Gulfstream V, typically departs from Accra, flies over Nigerian airspace, and returns to Ghana. The flights have been happening almost daily since late November.
The US move comes after President Donald Trump threatened possible military intervention in Nigeria over concerns about violence targeting Christian communities. Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and that US claims of Christian persecution don’t represent the complex security situation.
A Nigerian security source confirmed that the US agreed to deploy air assets to gather intelligence during a meeting between Nigerian National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on November 20. The US and Nigeria have established a joint task force to work on security.
The surveillance flights are part of the US efforts to address religious violence, anti-Christian attacks, and terrorism in Nigeria. Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has declared a security emergency and ordered mass recruitment into the army and police to tackle worsening insecurity.
