 His claims were described by an associate who knew him during this period thus; "Cohen knew how to impress...He gave his listeners – Israelis and especially Nigerians – the feeling that he was a mystery man.He let it be understood that he was connected to the Mossad and the Shin Bet intelligence services or maybe even represented them in Nigeria.Among other things, he related that he worked on behalf of the Mossad in North Africa.