Some men suspected to be herdsmen have been filmed handling and playing with what they claimed were remnants of a bomb allegedly dropped by the United States military on Christmas Day in Jabo community, Sokoto State, while openly mocking the American armed forces.
In the footage, the men were seen sitting around a metallic fragment, rolling it on the ground and treating it casually, despite the apparent danger it posed. They spoke in Hausa and repeatedly derided the United States, questioning the strength of its military.
The individuals, dressed like herdsmen, claimed that no U.S. bomb or missile could successfully strike Nigerian territory. As they laughed and handled the object, one voice encouraged the group to demonstrate their courage, even as he prayed that the fragment would not detonate.
“Show your strength, my people. I am praying for you that this fragment will not explode by God’s grace,” one of the men said.
The group went further to ridicule the American military, describing it as weak and asserting that Nigerians were superior to both foreign and local armed forces.
“Army, you are a disgrace. We Nigerians supersede you. Nothing can defeat us except God’s wish,” another voice said in the video.
“Nuclear weapons will never work in Nigeria. The American government should stay clear out of our domain. We are stronger than you.”
They also issued curses against the United States, claiming that any ill intentions directed at them would rebound, while repeatedly stating that America had been disgraced.
“All your bad wishes return back to you. America, you have been disgraced,” one of them added.
It was earlier reported that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) appealed to residents of Sokoto State to return explosive materials allegedly removed from the site of the U.S. Christmas Day airstrike in Jabo community, warning that the items posed a serious threat to public safety.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja while responding to questions from journalists, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, expressed concern that unauthorised individuals had taken sensitive and highly dangerous materials from the blast scene.
According to him, civilians were not expected to pick up or retain such items, noting that specialised military units are trained and mandated to recover and neutralise explosive devices.
“We can only appeal to them to return all materials that may prove harmful to them,” Onoja said. “We don’t expect anybody to take away these materials. We have formations within the armed forces whose duty it is to recover those things.”
The senior military officer also urged the media to help amplify the message, calling on anyone in possession of the materials to hand them over to nearby military formations or recognised security locations to allow for safe disarmament.
“So we also want you to disseminate to them that they should return them to the military or security locations so that we can disarm those things before they cause greater damage to the individuals who have taken them and to the other members of the public,” he added.
(SAHARAREPORTERS)
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