- Femi Fani-Kayode denied a New York Times report that the U.S. airstrikes in Sokoto were based on civilian intelligence, insisting that the operation was conducted through official U.S. security cooperation with Nigeria.
- He referred to Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tugal, who earlier clarified that the attack was coordinated with Nigeria’s armed forces and intelligence services.
Ambassador-designate Femi Fani-Kayode has dismissed as false a report in the New York Times that recent U.S. airstrikes in parts of Sokoto state were based on intelligence from civilian sources.
Fani-Kayode called the report unbelievable in a post on
He said such an operation could only be carried out through formal intelligence cooperation between U.S. and Nigerian security agencies.
Fani-Kayode accused the newspaper of publishing misleading and damaging reports aimed at damaging the credibility of both governments.
He referred to Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tugal, who earlier clarified that the attack was coordinated with Nigeria’s armed forces and intelligence services.
According to Fani-Kayode, he personally spoke with the minister after the incident, during which Tugal confirmed that the intelligence used came from Nigerian authorities.
He wrote: “Anyone who sincerely believes that the US government’s intelligence for bombing parts of Sokoto State was based on intelligence provided by an Onitsha screwdriver seller who used Google Maps to obtain information rather than intelligence provided by Nigeria’s intelligence services has low IQ, low self-esteem and low IQ. I respectfully urge such a person to be sensible.”
“The New York Times’ deliberately false and mischievous statements designed to disparage, disparage, humiliate and disparage the Nigerian and U.S. governments and their intelligence gathering capabilities are childish and childish. No country would allow its country to be bombed in the name of fighting ISIS or anyone else, nor would the United States take such a hasty and consequential course of action. Such a man’s words.”
“That is not what happened. Nigeria’s Foreign Minister @YusufTuggar made it clear that the Americans carried out this action in collaboration with our armed forces and intelligence agencies and that the intelligence they used to do so was provided to them by our government.
“I spoke with him ten minutes after the explosion, and he not only assured me of this, but provided me with the details of what happened. The Times’ reporting can best be described as not only fake news, but a load of dishonest and childish nonsense that the newspaper would be better off flushing down the toilet. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
