Yemi Obafemi
The Federal Government has confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu authorised the United States to carry out airstrikes against terrorist groups operating in Nigeria’s North-West region.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily following announcements by the United States Department of Defense and President Donald Trump that American forces had conducted strikes against terrorists in the area.
According to Tuggar, the operation was jointly planned and executed by Nigeria and the United States, stressing that it was not directed at any religion.
“Now that the US is cooperating, we are doing it jointly. As the President emphasised before giving the go-ahead, it must be clear that this is a joint operation and not targeted at any religion,” the minister said.
“Nigeria is a multi-religious country, and we are working with partners like the United States to fight terrorism and safeguard the lives and property of Nigerians.”
Describing the action as a long-awaited collaboration, Tuggar noted that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the strikes.
“It was Nigeria that provided the intelligence for the US strike. I spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, for about 19 minutes before the operation.
We agreed to brief President Tinubu for his approval, which he granted,” he said.
“After the approval, I spoke again with Rubio about five minutes before the strike was launched against the terrorists.”
On Thursday, the US Department of Defense confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed during the operation, which it said was conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
President Donald Trump also confirmed the strikes, stating that the United States had launched what he described as “powerful and deadly” attacks against ISIS operatives in North-West Nigeria.
The US President said the action was aimed at curbing terrorist violence in the region, adding that the operation demonstrated America’s commitment to combating radical terrorism in collaboration with its allies.
