Intelligence Materials Were Shared With US, Not Seized

Intelligence Materials Were Shared With US, Not Seized – DHQ
The clarification marks the first official response from Nigerian authorities following remarks by the United States
Uba maintained that the intelligence sharing should not be interpreted as American forces independently recovering materials from terrorists within Nigeria

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

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Eko Hot Blog reports that the Defence Headquarters clarified that the intelligence materials referenced by the US official were voluntarily shared by Nigeria as part of an existing counter-terrorism partnership between both countries.

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Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Samalia Uba, said the materials contained declassified intelligence gathered from previous counter-terrorism operations carried out by the Nigerian Armed Forces.

According to him, the information was officially released to the United States under ongoing security cooperation and was not recovered by American troops during an operation in Nigeria.

“The materials were given to the US,” Uba said, stressing that the intelligence exchange was part of the longstanding security collaboration between Nigeria and the United States.

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The clarification marks the first official response from Nigerian authorities following remarks by the United States.

The controversy arose after Sebastian Gorka, the US Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council, claimed American forces recovered a massive cache of electronic intelligence materials during an operation in Nigeria.

Gorka also alleged that US operatives killed 199 jihadists during the mission and seized what he described as the largest volume of enemy electronic intelligence since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Responding to the remarks, Uba maintained that the intelligence sharing should not be interpreted as American forces independently recovering materials from terrorists within Nigeria.

He added that the operation referenced by the US official was not new, noting that Nigeria had previously announced the successful joint counter-terrorism operations carried out with the United States in May.

According to him, security cooperation between both countries remains active and continues to support ongoing efforts against terrorism.