 Cohen built up contacts among the senior officers in the Nigerian military including Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, in the aftermath of the attempt it was claimed in some quarters that Obasanjo's friend Gen. T.Y.Danjuma had been instrumental in facilitating the mission.Cohen had impressed his Nigerian Military friends with stories of his ties to the Israeli intelligence services which were inaccurate and also unverifiable at the time because Nigeria had cut off diplomatic ties with Israel in solidarity with the OAU in the wake of the 1967 Israeli attack on Egypt.