The Tomahawk Truth: Dismantling the “Screwdriver Seller” Propaganda and the NYT’s Journalistic Failure

The sheer power of the United States military was on full display in late December 2025, on the 25th precisely, when President Bola Tinubu approved (As claimed by the presidency) a series of devastating US airstrikes against terrorist strongholds in Sokoto. These were high-precision operations involving Tomahawk cruise missiles and MQ-9 Reaper drones that vaporized threats with surgical accuracy. This level of military advancement represents the pinnacle of global defense, yet a laughable narrative has been allowed to circulate across the internet. The claim that the world’s most powerful military relied on a “screwdriver seller” from Onitsha for its intelligence is a calculated insult to the intelligence capacity of the US Army under the Trump administration. – US Sokoto Airstrike Screwdriver Propaganda

1. The Operational Reality vs. The Screwdriver Myth

The claim that the Pentagon relied on one Emeka Umeagbalasi, an Onitsha-based trader often referred to by the propagandists as a “screwdriver seller,” to conduct missile strikes is a logistical impossibility. The US military operates with a billion-dollar surveillance web of SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), satellite thermal imaging, and advanced human intelligence networks that do not require the input of a local hardware trader to identify high-value targets. To suggest that the Department of Defense bypasses its own sophisticated surveillance to follow the notes of a small NGO is not just a lie; it is a total disrespect to the professional intelligence officers who manage the most powerful military in human history.

2. The NYT and the Taiwo Aina Proxy

It is deeply suspicious that the New York Times report pushing this “screwdriver” narrative was penned by a freelancer, conveniently named Taiwo Aina Adedokun, rather than a renowned staff investigative journalist. By using a freelancer, the shady publication maintains a shield of plausible deniability while avoiding the risk of tying a high-value author’s identity to such an unauthenticated fallacy. The NYT failed to provide a single verified military insider to back the claim that a trader was the catalyst for Tomahawk strikes, choosing instead to allow a freelancer to publish a story that lacks basic military logic and institutional weight.

3. The $9 Million Lobbying Disgrace

While the Tinubu administration and spokesmen like Bayo Onanuga have been quick to take credit for “collaboration” and providing intelligence for the Sokoto strikes, their actions behind the scenes tell a different story. The APC government has reportedly funneled $9 million into US lobbying firms to buy influence (Such as the Emeka Story) and manage their image in Washington. This $9 million bribe is a direct disgrace to the Nigerian intelligence community and an insult to the US Army’s inherent capacity. It suggests that the administration believes US military decisions are for sale or can be bought through high-priced lobbyists rather than earned through professional, peer-to-peer security cooperation.

What this truly reveals is that the Tinubu Administration disregards the intelligence of the Northern Power Block. In an attempt to launder the image of the Government abroad through a $9M Dollars lobby, it has failed to understand that “approving” an airstrike-as swiftly acclaimed by the Government, totally falters the “Screwdriver seller propaganda”.

On one hand, Tinubu is terrified of the Northern backlash regarding the Sokoto airstrike; on the other, he insults the intelligence of Northerners by expecting them to swallow the ‘Screwdriver Propaganda’ whole. He is solely banking on their disdain for the Igbos—a desperate tactic of a “Strategist”, considering the non-existent ‘screwdriver seller’ in this narrative could have literally originated from any other part of the country.

4. Tinubu, Amupitan, and the Genocide Narrative

The propaganda ignores the fact that the reality of the crisis was already well-documented by the government’s own inner circle. Long before this “screwdriver seller” report, President Tinubu himself was a fierce critic of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, explicitly accusing it of allowing a “Christian genocide.” Furthermore, the administration recently appointed Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan as the new INEC Chairman, the very same legal expert who authored a 2020 brief confirming genocidal killings in Nigeria. Between the heroic actions of Imam Abubakar who saved 262 Christians and the documented legal work of government appointees like Amupitan, the world already had the facts. The “screwdriver seller” narrative is a redundant theatrical piece designed to overshadow to save Tinubu’s face towards the Northern Power Block and to further denigrate the actual advancement of US military defense.

Conclusion

The airstrikes in Sokoto were the result of 24/7 drone surveillance and deep-state intelligence sharing that Taiwo Aina and the NYT conveniently ignored. By attempting to credit a single market trader with the tactical decisions of the Pentagon, the propaganda seeks to make the US military look gullible and the Nigerian security apparatus look like a bystander. In reality, the $9 million lobbying scandal show a government desperate to control a narrative that has already been written by the sheer force of US military technology and the documented history of the conflict.

READ MORE: The $9 Million Irony: Is Nigeria’s APC Government Rewriting Its Own History?

READ MORE: Padi.ng