Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has dismissed claims that the Federal Government relied on intelligence supplied by an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller using Google Maps to facilitate recent airstrikes on suspected bandit camps in parts of Sokoto State.
Reacting to a report by The New York Times suggesting that a local trader provided the intelligence that led to the bombing, Fani-Kayode described the narrative as false, mischievous and deeply insulting to both Nigerian and United States intelligence services.
In a statement on Sunday, the former minister said it was absurd to believe that the U.S. government would base such a serious military action on information supplied by a private individual rather than intelligence from Nigeria’s security agencies.
“Anyone that honestly believes that the U.S. Government based its intelligence to bomb parts of Sokoto State on intel supplied by an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller who used Google Maps to source his information, and not on intelligence supplied by Nigerian intelligence services, must have a low IQ and low self-esteem,” Fani-Kayode said.
He urged those promoting the narrative to “get sense,” adding that no sovereign country would permit its territory to be bombed based on unverified information from a civilian trader.
“No country will allow its territory to be bombed in the name of fighting ISIS or anyone else on the words of an Onitsha utensils trader, and neither would the Americans take such a precipitous and consequential course of action on the words of such an individual. Things just don’t work that way,” he stated.
Fani-Kayode further cited the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, as having clarified that the airstrikes were carried out in collaboration with Nigeria’s Armed Forces and intelligence agencies, using intelligence provided by the Nigerian government.
“The Nigerian Foreign Minister has made it clear that the Americans took the action in collaboration with our Armed Forces and Intelligence agencies and that the intel they used to do so was given to them by our Government,” he said.
He also claimed to have spoken directly with Ambassador Tuggar shortly after the bombing occurred.
“I spoke with him exactly ten minutes after the bombing took place and he not only assured me of this but also provided me with details of the build-up to the event,” Fani-Kayode added.
The former minister accused The New York Times of deliberately pushing a narrative intended to ridicule and embarrass both governments.
“The false and mischievous narrative which has been purposely put out by the New York Times to belittle, demean, embarrass and debase both the Nigerian and the U.S. Governments and their intelligence-gathering capabilities is puerile and childish,” he said.
Describing the report as “fake news,” Fani-Kayode said it amounted to “a hefty load of disingenuous and infantile hogwash.”
The controversial airstrikes in Sokoto have continued to generate debate and public scrutiny, particularly over issues of sovereignty, civilian safety and foreign military involvement in Nigeria’s counterterrorism operations.
