He stated on Saturday that a United States aircraft carried out an operation in Borno State, noting that the aircraft took off from Accra, Ghana.
A security expert, tracker, and jihadi analyst focusing on the Sahel, Brant Philip, claimed that the United States has begun conducting operations inside Nigeria as part of an agreement with the Nigerian government to address escalating terrorism.
He explained on Saturday that a United States aircraft conducted an operation in Borno State and departed from Accra, Ghana.
Confirming his earlier reports, he wrote on X that a manned US ISR aircraft conducted reconnaissance earlier in the day over ISWAP territory in the southwestern Lake Chad region of Borno State in northeast Nigeria. He added that the aircraft originally took off from Accra, Ghana, and was already on its way back.
Earlier on Thursday, Brant had stated that the US Department of War was already conducting reconnaissance operations in western Nigeria from its base in Ghana, without any public announcement of permission from the Nigerian government. He suggested that possible agreements might have been signed behind closed doors.
He also said that, according to a private source familiar with the military deal between the US and Nigeria, the United States would be allowed to conduct UAV airstrikes against terrorist targets inside Nigeria. The scope, he claimed, included only unmanned aircraft and not fighter jets or bombers.
He added that the American side would mainly address ISR gaps within the Nigerian Army using manned and unmanned aircraft, and would likely (though still unconfirmed) use the Kainji Air Base in Niger State as a launchpad.
On Sunday afternoon, he wrote again that the United States ISR aircraft had returned to observe ISWAP’s Mantiqah Krinwa.
He stated that the US Air Force ISR aircraft returned for the third consecutive day to gather intelligence over ISWAP’s Mantiqah Krinwa in Borno State near Lake Chad. According to him, the aircraft was circling the area after taking off from Accra, Ghana, as usual.
Reacting to his posts, former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad criticized the disclosures and accused Brant of revealing sensitive information to ISWAP.
He urged him to stop exposing vital information to the terrorist group.
After Nigeria was designated a “Country of Particular Concern” by Donald Trump over alleged genocide against Christians, the Nigerian government rejected the label and sent a delegation to the United States.
In a publication on its war website, the United States provided details of the meeting.
The statement was issued by Sean Parnell, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Senior Advisor.
According to the statement, on November 20, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with a Nigerian delegation led by National Security Advisor Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at the Pentagon.
Both parties discussed ways to achieve tangible progress in stopping violence against Christians in Nigeria and combating West African jihadist groups.
Secretary Hegseth emphasized the need for Nigeria to demonstrate commitment by taking urgent and long-term action to stop violence against Christians. He also expressed the department’s desire to work alongside Nigeria to deter and weaken terrorist groups that pose a threat to the United States.
The Nigerian delegation included Mr. Ribadu; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu; Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Lt. Gen. E.A.P. Undiendeye; Special Adviser to the NSA, Idayat Hassan; Director of Foreign Relations at ONSA, Ibrahim Babani; Acting Chargé d’Affaires at the Nigerian Embassy, Nuru Biu; and Paul Alabi, head of the Political and Economic Section at the Embassy of Nigeria.
Before the meeting, the US President had threatened to conduct a military operation in Nigeria to eliminate those he referred to as Islamic terrorists.
As of the time of this report, aside from Brant’s posts, neither the Nigerian government nor the United States had released any official statement confirming a US military operation on Nigerian soil.
Trump’s threat of military action has been widely rejected by the Nigerian Presidency and has sparked widespread controversy.
Kidnapping, killings, and banditry continue to occur daily, leaving Nigerians struggling with persistent insecurity.
