No fewer than three United States military aircraft reportedly landed in Nigeria between Thursday and Friday.
themomentng learnt that the aircraft touched down at military facilities in Borno and other states in the North-East as part of ongoing security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States.
According to Punch, senior officers at the Defence Headquarters disclosed that the aircraft conveyed ammunition supplied by the American government to support Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operations.
The officers, who spoke in separate interviews, said the development followed bilateral engagements between Nigeria and the US on security collaboration.
“Following Nigeria-US bilateral talks on security, the American government will not only deploy soldiers but also provide necessary logistics, including ammunition, to fight the insurgents,” one of the officers, who requested anonymity, said.
Another senior officer described the delivery as part of routine operational logistics, noting that ammunition often needs replenishment after military operations.
“I know that recently US aircraft came to supply ammunition for our platforms, and that wasn’t the first time. So, what you are saying may be true, though I have not been officially briefed.
“We go for operations and use different calibres of ammunition, which need to be replaced.
“The US and the Nigerian government, under the coordination of the NSA, are working together to end insecurity in the country. So, we should expect more deployments of aircraft and troops,” he added.
C-17 Transport Flights Land In Three Locations
A report by The New York Times on Saturday (yesterday) stated that US military aircraft landed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, on Thursday night.
By Friday evening, three planes were reportedly sighted at the base, with equipment being offloaded from one of them.
“These initial flights are the vanguard of what will be a stream of C-17 transport flights into three main locations across Nigeria,” a US Department of Defence official was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a post on 𝕏 by a counter terrorism reporter [@mobilisingniger] claimed that a US Air Force C-30J transport aircraft landed at Kaduna International Airport after departing from Ghana.
The post suggested the Kaduna Depot could serve as a training hub for US personnel collaborating with the Nigerian military.
“A US Air Force military transport aircraft C30J has landed at Kaduna International Airport after departing from Ghana earlier this (Friday) evening. The movement is fuelling speculation that US personnel may utilise the Kaduna Depot as a potential training hub in collaboration with the Nigerian military. This signals a potential deepening of US–Nigeria security engagement amid ongoing regional security challenges,” the post read.
Another 𝕏 user, Brant Philip, who described himself as a tracker, claimed there had been a “massive delivery of equipment” to the Maiduguri Airbase.
“The US Air Force C-130J-30 cargo aircraft flew to northeast Nigeria today (Friday) from Accra, Ghana, following the same route as the two previous C-17A; a mass delivery of equipment seems to be ongoing,” he wrote.
However, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Michael Onoja, had yet to respond to inquiries on the development as of the time of filing this report.
Recall that the United States President, Donald Trump, had in 2025 indicated that he would send military forces to Nigeria if the government failed to halt what he described as genocide against Christians.
Following the declaration of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, the US later carried out an airstrike on Islamic State fighters in Sokoto State on Christmas Day.
Both countries have since intensified cooperation on security.
Earlier reports indicated that about 200 US officers would be deployed to Nigeria, with the first batch already arriving in the country.
The New York Times said the deployment marked the beginning of a broader mission involving American intelligence analysts, advisers and trainers working with Nigerian forces on targeted counter-terrorism operations, partly aimed at protecting vulnerable communities.
The newspaper further disclosed that additional aircraft conveying troops and equipment were expected to arrive over the weekend, with more deployments anticipated in the coming weeks.
