VIDEO: Sokoto Men Mock American Military, Play With U.S. Bomb Fragments
Residents of Jabo community in Sokoto State have raised concerns after a video surfaced showing men suspected to be herdsmen handling metallic objects they claimed were fragments of a bomb allegedly dropped by the United States military on Christmas Day.
In the video, the men—speaking in Hausa and dressed in attire commonly associated with herdsmen—were seen sitting around the object, rolling and playing with it while laughing. They openly mocked the United States and questioned the power of its military, claiming that no U.S. bomb or missile could successfully strike Nigerian soil.
One voice in the footage urged the group to “show their strength,” while praying that the object would not explode. Others were heard deriding both foreign and local armed forces, boasting that Nigerians were stronger than any military power and asserting that only divine will could defeat them. The men also dismissed the effectiveness of nuclear weapons in Nigeria and issued curses against the United States, repeatedly describing the country as “disgraced.”
The development comes amid growing safety concerns from Nigerian authorities. Earlier, Naija News House reported that the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) appealed to residents of Sokoto State to return any explosive materials allegedly taken from the site of a Christmas Day airstrike in Jabo community.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, warned that the removal of materials from the blast site by unauthorised persons posed a serious danger to both individuals and the public.
“We are concerned that sensitive and highly dangerous materials from the blast scene have been taken away,” 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.”
He urged anyone in possession of such items to return them to nearby military bases or recognised security locations for safe disarmament, and called on the media to help disseminate the warning.
“We can only appeal to them to return all materials that may prove harmful to them and to other members of the public,” Onoja added.
Authorities continue to stress that handling suspected explosive remnants is extremely dangerous and that only trained military personnel are equipped to safely recover and neutralise them.
