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An international human rights lawyer and bilateral affairs expert, Emmanuel Ogebe, has stated the reason the US military chose Sokoto as its first target with airstrike.
According to News Express, Ogebe said the location of the strikes appeared to reflect strategic familiarity rather than the scale of violence.
He said Sokoto had previously been the site of a US military operation during former President Donald Trump’s first term, when American special forces rescued US citizen Philip Walton from kidnappers in 2020, killing no fewer than six terrorists in the process.
The international human rights lawyer described Sokoto as an unusual choice for an opening strike, given that it was neither the epicentre of global jihadist activity in Nigeria’s North-East, where a deadly suicide bombing was recently recorded in Borno State.
“The North-West appears to be a safer operational bet for the US, given prior boots-on-ground experience and institutional memory from earlier missions,” Ogebe said.
According to him, nearness to Niger Republic, where the US until recently maintained military bases, might also have influenced the decision, as American forces are more familiar with the terrain and intelligence architecture in the region.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has since stated that the operation was conducted jointly with the United States and other allies.
Ogebe said this claim was credible, citing lessons from the 2020 Walton rescue operation, which nearly failed due to the absence of confirmed Nigerian airspace clearance.
Airstrike: Why US chose Sokoto as first target in Nigeria – Expert
