The United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling heightened security cooperation between both countries, according to flight tracking data and US officials cited by Reuters.

The report on Monday said the purpose of the surveillance missions could not be independently confirmed. However, the flights follow threats by U.S. President Donald Trump in November to intervene militarily in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to halt violence against Christian communities.

Reuters noted that the surveillance operations also come months after a US pilot working for a missionary agency was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.

Flight tracking data for December showed that the contractor-operated aircraft typically takes off from Ghana, flies over Nigeria, and returns to Accra. Nigeria’s military spokesperson and Ghana’s deputy defence minister did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump has also recalled the Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, and other career diplomats from their ambassadorial posts.

According to Politico, the move is part of an effort to align US diplomatic representation abroad with President Trump’s “America First” priorities.

A State Department official confirmed to the news platform that the ambassadors affected by the shake-up had initially been appointed during the Joe Biden administration but will now end their tenures in January.

While the diplomats will return to Washington for other assignments if they wish, their postings as chiefs of mission will conclude.

Africa is the region most affected by the recalls, with ambassadors from 13 countries, including Nigeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Uganda, among those removed.
Other regions affected include the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Western Hemisphere.