Some Nigerian official is calling out a US airstrike as a total miss. Ladan Salihu, a former head of Nigeria's Federal Radio Corporation, blasted the American Christmas night operation in Jabo village, Sokoto State, saying it was inaccurate and failed to hit any target. He got his info from a local lawmaker, Bashar Isah Jabo, who visited the site. According to that account, the missiles just cratered an empty field roughly 300 meters from a hospital, with no injuries, deaths, or property damage. Salihu emphasized that the area had no terrorist activity or conflicts all year.
He threw serious doubt on the whole point of the mission. Salihu questioned if the strike was more about generating news headlines than actually taking out terrorist threats, noting the village had no recorded presence of ISIS or related group fighters. While saying he supports anti-terror cooperation, he argued operations should precisely target known leaders and hideouts, not empty fields. He pressed Nigeria's Defence Headquarters to fully investigate and explain the incident to the public. Salihu also noted everyone was lucky the missiles didn't hit the hospital or the villagers.
This criticism directly contradicts the official statement from US Africa Command, which claimed the action, done with Nigerian government collaboration, demonstrated military strength and a commitment to stopping terrorists. The former broadcaster's post suggests the operation may have been based on faulty intelligence, hitting a peaceful area with no links to the intended targets.
He threw serious doubt on the whole point of the mission. Salihu questioned if the strike was more about generating news headlines than actually taking out terrorist threats, noting the village had no recorded presence of ISIS or related group fighters. While saying he supports anti-terror cooperation, he argued operations should precisely target known leaders and hideouts, not empty fields. He pressed Nigeria's Defence Headquarters to fully investigate and explain the incident to the public. Salihu also noted everyone was lucky the missiles didn't hit the hospital or the villagers.
This criticism directly contradicts the official statement from US Africa Command, which claimed the action, done with Nigerian government collaboration, demonstrated military strength and a commitment to stopping terrorists. The former broadcaster's post suggests the operation may have been based on faulty intelligence, hitting a peaceful area with no links to the intended targets.
