Military Dismisses US Claim Of Capturing Intelligence Materials From Terrorists In Nigeria

The Defence Headquarters has refuted claims by a senior United States official that American forces seized a large cache of electronic materials from terrorists during an operation in Nigeria and flew the intelligence out of the country.

Instead, the Nigerian military said the intelligence materials were voluntarily provided to the United States as part of ongoing counter-terrorism cooperation between both countries.

The Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Samalia Uba, disclosed this in an interview with Premium Times, explaining that the materials contained declassified information from previous counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF).

According to him, the intelligence was not captured by American forces but released by the Nigerian government under an existing security collaboration.

“The materials were given to the US,” Uba said, adding that the development formed part of the longstanding security partnership between Nigeria and the United States.

His remarks mark the first official response from the Nigerian authorities since the claim was made by the US.

The controversy followed comments by the US Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, Sebastian Gorka, who said American forces recovered a massive cache of electronic materials during an operation in Nigeria.

Speaking in late June, Gorka claimed US operators killed 199 jihadists during the mission and recovered what he described as the largest volume of enemy electronic intelligence since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“I watched our operators kill 199 jihadis in one operation and seize an unprecedented volume of intelligence materials,” he said.

He added that the operation yielded so much intelligence that an additional aircraft was required to transport the electronic materials.

“From that Nigerian raid, we needed an extra plane to bring home all the electronic material that we captured in those camps. The haul was three times bigger than any enemy electronics haul since 9/11,” Gorka stated.

Although he did not identify the specific operation, his description corresponded with the joint Nigeria-US operation announced in May that eliminated a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok.

Responding to the US claims, Uba said the intelligence exchange should not be interpreted as American forces independently seizing materials from terrorists in Nigeria.

“It is not a new operation,” he said.

“We have previously communicated our highly successful joint operations in May. Nigeria-US joint operations and collaboration are very much on course.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also defended the intelligence-sharing arrangement.

Its spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said Nigeria supplied the materials to enable US authorities better understand terrorist activities in the country.

“I don’t think it is an indictment that we shared this information with them,” he told Premium Times.

“Sharing intelligence is part of the counter-terrorism cooperation Nigeria has with the US.

“We share intelligence with them, especially with the arrival of their troops on our soil to help combat terrorist attacks.”

Ebienfa added that the Federal Government remained focused on addressing Nigeria’s security challenges rather than publicising every aspect of its security cooperation with foreign partners.

Weeks after the joint operation, the United States imposed sanctions on Lagos-based bureau de change operator Mukhtar Adamu, accusing him of facilitating financial transactions for the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The sanctions also targeted Nine To Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited.

Nigeria subsequently imposed similar sanctions on Adamu and the affected companies.