Nigerian soldier alleges bandits evaded US airstrike in Sokoto after prior warning
A Nigerian soldier, Emmanuel Odaudu, popularly identified on Instagram as @officialbenison, has raised questions over the effectiveness of the recent United States airstrike carried out in parts of Sokoto State.
In a video circulating online, Odaudu claimed that although the US did strike a location in Sokoto, the operation did not result in any casualties because the targeted bandits had allegedly vacated the area a day earlier.
According to him, the terrorists moved out on December 24, ahead of the December 25 strike, suggesting that they may have had prior knowledge of the impending attack.
The soldier alleged that the United States would not conduct an airstrike without confirmed intelligence and clearance, adding that some Nigerian political actors were aware of the operation before it was carried out.
He questioned how armed groups were able to leave an area that was widely known as a bandit enclave, despite existing checkpoints and security presence.
Odaudu further argued that the absence of casualties indicates that the strike hit an empty location, fueling concerns about possible intelligence leaks.
He maintained that Nigeria’s own armed forces possess the capability to carry out similar operations if properly mobilised, and suggested that foreign intervention alone cannot resolve the country’s security challenges.
His words …
“I might say some things in this video that might sound unbelievable to some people, but I will not be here to risk my life and that of my family to come and make certain claims just for likes and views and that will do nothing for me.
Quite alright the US strike some part of Sokoto, but I’m telling you right now that the USA will not make that mistake of striking places where there is no targets. Even one person was wounded no day because there was nobody there. Why? Definitely the U.S.A. will not strike Nigeria without some go-ahead. So most politicians from Nigeria are aware of the airstrike. But guess what? Let me shock you. Do you know that? That particular place is… Where U.S. strike, bandits were actually there. But they moved out on the 24th. How dey take no, say something like that wan happen. I’ll take you back again. The U.S. will not strike without the go ahead. Some Nigerian politicians, they are aware of the airstrike. The bandits, they were supposed to be there, they moved out on the 24th. U.S. strike empty places. Now, how I take notice if these people did it before and they moved out on the 24th? There are places in that whole area where they strike. There are places, before you get to that place, you must pass certain checkpoints. People saw them leaving. I will not even tell you who did those checkpoints. But people saw them leaving on the 24th. Moreover, the place, the so-called place where bandits did asan, that same place, it was not hidden. Nobody said they hid. People know say bandits dey this area. But the question is why they move out on the 24th? How come bandits not see the one strike on the 25th? U.S. no go just make mistake, just fear, fear, fear. Even one person no wound. The one strike, did they tell Nigerian politicians that kind of thing? Did they tell Nigerian politicians that kind of thing? We might not be that big to an extent. But you see all these levels. You see all these kind of levels. We get contact. About everything where they go on. The first people we go to that place. Before the town people even go there. Boys don’t go there already. If one person no wound. Nobody did it. They moved out on the 24th. How? Are you saying Nigerian politicians are not strong? You think what the US do right now that the Air Force cannot do it on a normal day? You think the Air Force are that weak or incompetent to do it on a normal day? Our land army, don’t we go there and flush all of them out? And when the US decides to intervene, those guys got the information already. Because some Nigerian politicians, they are aware already. Merry Christmas.”
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