Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
A report by Reuters, says the United States of America, has been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over a large portion of Nigeria, since late November, after President Donald Trump threatened military intervention against terrorists and bandits behind genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
The surveillance flights were said to be tracking data and current and former U.S. officials show, signalling heightened security cooperation between Nigeria and the US.
According to the exclusive report which was published on Monday, the purpose of the surveillance missions could not be immediately and independently confirmed.
Trump had while responding to alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria posted: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities”.
“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”
The report said flight tracking data for December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically departs from Ghana, flies over Nigerian airspace, and returns to Accra, Ghana’s capital.
It revealed that the aircraft is operated by Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a company that provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the U.S. military, according to its website.
However, the report says the company did not respond to a request for comment.
The report quoted a current U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, as confirming the aircraft had been flying over Nigeria but declined to provide further details, citing diplomatic sensitivity.
It also said another administration official said the United States continued to work with Nigeria to address religious violence and the spread of terrorism.
Meanwhile , Pentagon had in a statement, said it had held productive meetings with Nigerian authorities following Trump’s remarks but declined to comment on intelligence operations.
But the report said Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Liam Karr, Africa team lead at the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, who analysed the flight data, said the operation appeared to be run out of Accra, a known hub for U.S. military logistics in Africa.
Karr said the renewed flights suggest Washington is rebuilding intelligence capacity in the region after Niger ordered U.S. forces to leave a major air base last year and shifted its security partnership towards Russia.
“In recent weeks we’ve seen a resumption of intelligence and surveillance flights in Nigeria,” Karr said.
A former U.S. official said the aircraft was among several assets moved to Ghana in November and that the missions included efforts to track the kidnapped U.S. pilot and gather intelligence on militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram and its splinter faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
