iDeemlawfulThe United States has restarted intelligence and surveillance missions in Nigeria following recent airstrikes on ISIS terrorists in Sokoto State.
Sahel-based terrorism tracker Brant Philip disclosed the development after sharing flight tracking records showing an aircraft operating over parts of Borno State.
The aircraft involved was identified as a Gulfstream V, a long-range jet commonly adapted for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance duties, according to the tracking data.
Philip explained that Saturday’s intelligence activity was directed at the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the ISIS affiliate active mainly in Nigeria’s North-East and the Lake Chad basin.
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“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,” he posted on X.
Flight records further revealed that US intelligence missions over Nigeria began on November 24, with the aircraft departing from Ghana, a key hub in the US military’s African logistics network.
Since the commencement of the mission, the aircraft has reportedly flown over Nigeria on an almost daily basis.
The tracking data linked the aircraft’s operator to Tenax Aerospace, a special-mission aviation firm known to work closely with the US military.
When the missions initially began, a former US official disclosed that they were partly aimed at locating an American pilot kidnapped in neighbouring Niger Republic, as well as collecting intelligence on militant groups operating within Nigeria.
The surveillance operations followed shortly after Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, held talks in Washington with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth amid threats of military intervention by President Donald Trump.
After that meeting, Hegseth said his department would work “aggressively” with Nigeria to halt the alleged “persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists”.
The airstrike carried out on Thursday night marked the first execution of that threat, with Trump indicating that further strikes could occur.
Prior to the Christmas Day operation, similar US intelligence missions had been conducted over Sokoto, Yobe and areas around the Lake Chad region.
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, later told the BBC that the airstrikes were a joint Nigeria–US effort and that additional action could still be taken.
The resumption of surveillance flights has raised the prospect of new air operations, potentially shifting focus back to Nigeria’s North-East.