By Our Reporter
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has spoken on the United States’ airstrike on terrorist targets in the country, saying that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the airstrike and formally approved the operation before it was carried out.
The minister made this known on Friday, in reaction to the airstrike, while speaking on Channels Television, a day after the US confirmed it had carried out the exercise as part of counter-terrorism operations.
Tuggar said the operation was the outcome of ongoing security cooperation between Nigeria and the US and was not motivated by religious considerations.
"It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence. I was on the phone yesterday for 19 minutes with Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, of the United States. We spoke extensively, and we agreed that I was going to speak with President Tinubu for President Tinubu to give the go-ahead.
"And I did speak with him and it was agreed also that the statements that would follow would be statements that would show clearly that it is a strike against terrorism and that it is part of the ongoing joint operations between Nigeria and collaboration between Nigeria and the United States," the minister said.
The minister stated that Nigeria had long sought deeper collaboration with the US and other countries to combat terrorism, describing the strike as a vindication of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s security strategy.
Tuggar noted that Nigeria had remained consistent in its approach of working with all partners that were committed to the fight against terrorism, irrespective of religion or what type of terrorism.
He said the development was a clear indication that the President Tinubu was committed and prepared to work with all countries, especially to correct the notion by "those who thought that there was some foot-dragging or, you know, the government wasn’t doing enough."
"Nigeria has remained consistent in its approach, which is to work with all partners that are committed to the fight against terrorism, irrespective of what religion, who the victims are, whether they are Muslims or Christians, and irrespective of what type of terrorism, be it terrorism being carried out in the name of one religion or the other, or indeed even bandage. So this is an ongoing process.
“We have been working closely with the Americans. This is what we’ve always been hoping for: to work with the Americans, work with other countries to combat terrorism, to stop the death of innocent Nigerians. So this is a vindication of the Tinubu administration.
“For those who thought that there was some foot-dragging or, you know, the government wasn’t doing enough, it is a clear indication that we are committed and we are prepared to work with all countries," he stated.
Speaking further, the minister, while maintaining that the operation had nothing to do with religion, noted that its sole purpose was to protect innocent lives, whether Nigerian or foreign.
"It is not to do with religion, it is to do with protecting Nigerians and the innocent lives of either Nigerians or non-Nigerians. This was clear. We spoke twice," he said.
It would be recalled that Donald Trump, the US president, on Thursday confirmed that his country carried out an airstrike targeting suspected terrorist elements in Nigeria.
US officials said the operation was conducted based on shared intelligence and in coordination with Nigeria’s government, amid ongoing efforts to weaken extremist groups operating in parts of Nigeria.
Months before the strike, Trump had warned that Washington could take action against terrorist groups operating in Nigeria, citing repeated attacks and what he described as genocide against Christian communities.
The US president's comments at the time drew mixed reactions in Nigeria, with officials insisting that insecurity in the country was not religiously motivated and that both Muslims and Christians had been victims of terrorism and banditry.
Nigeria has for years been ravaged by multiple security threats, including insurgency by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the North-East, leading to thousands of deaths and widespread displacement.
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