Omoyele Sowore has recounted how Sahara Reporters obtained and published a photograph of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of attempting to bomb a US-bound passenger plane on Christmas Day in 2009.
Speaking in an exclusive interview from 41:05 with Sahara TV, Sowore said he was at his father-in-law’s house when he heard on CNN that a Nigerian man had attempted to detonate a bomb aboard a plane in Detroit, United States.
He said that the following day, he discovered that Abdulmutallab and the son of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai had attended the same secondary school in Togo.
According to Sowore, he contacted El-Rufai’s son, who confirmed that he knew Abdulmutallab and helped him obtain the suspect’s school photograph within minutes.
Sowore said he added a Sahara Reporters watermark to the photograph and published it on the website. He recalled that CNN later used the image and credited the Nigerian news outlet, triggering a surge in traffic that caused the website to crash within about 30 minutes.
Explaining how he obtained the photograph, Sowore said, “I called his son and his son was like ‘I know him, we went to school in Togo. There is an elite secondary school in Togo that we all went to’. I said can we get his class photo, so within 5 minutes I got his class photo. I was just thinking since nobody knows this guy let me just put Sahara Reporters watermark on it. I did it and put up the photo on my website and within 30 minutes the website crashed. Why? The CNN picked it up and said ‘Finally, through a Nigerian news website we have found out who the guy who wants to bring this plane down is'”
Related posts:
JUST IN: Shehu Sani Identifies Three Common Factors In Assassinations Of Northern Clerics
NDC: Fourth Venue Is Under Threat Despite Keeping Location Secret Until Hours Before Announcement -O...
Rice Now Sells Below ₦50,000 Per Bag In Northern States, Was Above ₦70,000 Before Tinubu – Abdul Ham...
President Tinubu Has Never Slept In Anambra, Enugu Or Bayelsa, Obasanjo Did When I Was Governor –Pet...
2027 Election: “We Will Ensure” Nigeria’s Next President Has Credible Endorsement —Onaiyekan
