Senior Nigerian military officials have dismissed claims that United States aircraft recently delivered weapons and equipment to Borno and Kaduna states to support counterterrorism operations.
The reports, widely circulated on social media last week, cited a New York Times article alleging that three US military planes landed in Nigeria between Thursday and Friday, with at least one offloading ammunition in Maiduguri, Borno State. A US Department of Defence official was quoted describing the flights as “the vanguard of what will be a stream of C-17 transport flights into three main locations across Nigeria.”
However, senior sources at Defence Headquarters and the Nigerian Army told Vanguard that they were unaware of any such deliveries. An Army Headquarters source confirmed no US aircraft landed in Kaduna or elsewhere last week, while a theatre command source described reports of arms being dropped in Borno as “fake and baseless.”
An official at Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, speaking anonymously, clarified that the aircraft observed was a Max Air flight transporting Nigerian troops, not US military planes, and dismissed suggestions of foreign arms deliveries.
Military authorities reiterated that Nigeria maintains ongoing security cooperation with the US, UK, and France, focusing on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and other combat support. They stressed that these partnerships are part of long-standing arrangements and separate from the alleged recent deliveries.
The clarification follows heightened US–Nigeria security collaboration after American operations against ISIS camps in Sokoto State on Christmas Day 2025. Officials affirmed that counterterrorism efforts continue under coordinated strategies with international partners, while emphasizing that reports of US aircraft dropping arms in Borno and Kaduna last week are false.