President Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, stated on Thursday that U.S. SEAL Team Six completed the rescue of a kidnapped American citizen in northern Nigeria in just 60 seconds.
Mr Patel made this revelation during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate on January 30, 2025.
He faced intense questioning regarding his role in the covert operation to free Philip Walton, a 27-year-old son of American missionaries who had been abducted by armed bandits from neighbouring Niger and taken to northern Nigeria for ransom.
“The operation lasted 60 seconds,” Mr Patel asserted before Congress on Thursday.
Further scrutiny arose regarding his alleged recklessness in suggesting that the Nigerian government had granted SEAL Team Six permission to use its airspace. Mr Patel was the mastermind behind the rescue, having gathered intelligence on Mr Walton’s location.
He recognised an urgent opportunity for SEAL Team Six to act, as the bandits could relocate Mr Walton at any moment.
While the aircraft was airborne with agents mid-flight, U.S. senior officials discovered that the Nigerian government had not yet given the Navy SEALs clearance to enter their airspace, much less to land.
In his memoir, then-Defence Secretary Mark Esper expressed concern over what he described as Mr Patel’s numerous missteps, particularly fearing for the SEALs’ safety during the unauthorised mission.
“I was worried that being cooped up in an aircraft for an extended period might affect the special operators’ readiness,” ABC News reported, citing Mr Esper’s account of the operation.
Mr Esper mentioned that the SEALs began to doubt the authenticity of Mr Patel’s claims regarding the Nigerian government’s approval.
“My team suspected Patel fabricated the approval story, but they didn’t have all the facts,” Mr Esper wrote.
In his own book, “Government Gangsters,” Mr Patel countered these accusations, asserting that there were individuals attempting to sabotage the president’s agenda by creating obstacles for counterterrorism efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
The operation ultimately succeeded after the State Department swiftly intervened to secure airspace permission from Nigerian authorities before the Navy SEALs landed.
Mr Patel has encountered considerable opposition in his bid to become FBI director, and it remains uncertain whether he addressed the Senate’s concerns adequately.