The United States has intensified intelligence-gathering operations over Nigeria, conducting surveillance flights across large swathes of the country since late November, according to flight tracking data and US officials cited by Reuters.
In an exclusive report published on Monday, Reuters said the exact objective of the missions could not be independently verified. However, the development points to heightened security cooperation between Washington and Abuja.
The surveillance flights come in the wake of remarks by former US President Donald Trump in November, in which he threatened possible military intervention over what he described as Nigeria’s failure to curb violence against Christian communities.
Reuters also noted that the operations follow the kidnapping of a US pilot working for a missionary organization in neighboring Niger earlier this year, an incident that raised security concerns in the region.
Flight tracking data from December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically departed from Ghana, flew over Nigerian airspace, and returned to Accra.
The aircraft was identified as being operated by Tenax Aerospace, a Mississippi-based firm that provides specialized mission aircraft and works closely with the US military, according to information on the company’s website.
