All of my "friends" as you call them....are long gone from Nigeria but it is interesting the "contacts" one makes over many years in the industry.
The question is not "where" the information comes from but how "timely and accurate" it is.
The Jungle Telegraph has always worked well....and will continue as is common when the natives get restless. You remember the old Tarzan films don't you.... guys setting around a campfire worrying about what is going on outside their camp as they listen to the beating of drums. Same thing in the helicopter industry.