The United States has resumed intelligence and surveillance operations over Nigeria, days after conducting airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Sokoto State.
Brandon Philip, a Sahel focused terrorism analyst, shared flight tracking data on Saturday, December 27, showing a US aircraft operating over parts of northeastern Nigeria, including Borno State. The aircraft involved was identified as a Gulfstream V, a long range jet frequently modified for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
Philip said the operations targeted the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), which operates primarily in Nigeria’s northeast and the Lake Chad Basin region. He noted the surveillance focused on the Sambisa forest area in Borno State.
“The United States resumed ISR operations today on ISWAP in the Sambisa forest, Borno state in northeast Nigeria, after a pause of one day following the strikes in Sokoto state,” Philip wrote on X.
Flight records indicate that US intelligence missions in Nigeria began on November 24, after the aircraft departed from Ghana, which serves as a key logistics hub for American military operations in Africa. The aircraft has reportedly flown over Nigeria almost daily since then.
Flight data linked the aircraft operator to Tenax Aerospace, a firm known to provide specialised aviation services for the US military. When the surveillance missions first began, a former US official said the operations aimed to track an American pilot kidnapped in neighbouring Niger, as well as gather intelligence on militant groups active in Nigeria.
The renewed activity follows a recent meeting in Washington between Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The discussions occurred amid threats by former US president Donald Trump of possible military intervention over security concerns in Nigeria.
After the meeting, Hegseth said the US Department of Defence would work aggressively with Nigeria to address what he described as the persecution of Christians by jihadist groups. Trump later indicated that further strikes would follow the initial operation in Sokoto, signalling a sustained phase of US military engagement in the region.
The airstrikes in Sokoto State marked a significant escalation in US involvement in Nigeria’s security challenges, which include militant insurgencies by groups affiliated with the Islamic State and Boko Haram.
