Dalena Reporters l December 22, 2025
The United States has been conducting intelligence-gathering surveillance flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November 2025, according to flight-tracking data and statements from current and former U.S. officials a development that comes in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of possible military intervention over Nigeria’s perceived failure to stop attacks targeting Christian communities and rising security concerns.
Flight-tracking records indicate that a Gulfstream V aircraft operated by Tenax Aerospace a U.S. contractor that works closely with the U.S. military regularly takes off from Accra, Ghana’s capital, and conducts near-daily surveillance missions over Nigerian territory before returning to Ghana. The missions reportedly began shortly after a November 20 high-level meeting in which Nigerian and U.S. security officials reportedly agreed to deploy air assets for intelligence gathering.
Analysts describe the renewed U.S. aerial intelligence activity as part of broader security cooperation between Washington and Abuja, aimed at tracking militant groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) which remain active in northern Nigeria and potentially assisting in the search for a U.S. pilot kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.
The surveillance flights follow months of mounting tensions after Trump publicly suggested that the United States might take military action if Nigeria fails to curb violence against Christians, including designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations. While the exact objectives of the flights have not been officially detailed, U.S. officials said they form part of efforts to help tackle terrorism and enhance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in the region.
The presence of U.S. surveillance aircraft over Nigerian airspace marks a significant development in U.S.–Nigeria security relations, coming after the removal of U.S. troops from neighbouring Niger earlier in 2025 and as Washington seeks to rebuild its regional capacity to monitor extremist groups.
Published by Dalena Reporters.