The Nigeria government says President Bola Tinubu gave the go-ahead for the US strikes against terrorists in the country’s North-Western region.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said this on Friday, hours after the US Department of War and President Donald Trump announced the North American nation had conducted strikes against the terrorists.
“Now that the US is cooperating, we would do it jointly, and we would ensure, just as the President emphasised yesterday before he gave the go-ahead, that it must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other,” the minister said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“We are a multi-religious country, and we are working with partners like the US to fight terrorism and safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians,” the minister said.
‘A Collaboration, Nigeria Provided Intelligence’
Some have viewed the strikes as a violation of the country’s territorial integrity, but Tuggar says the Federal Government would not take any actions that would violate the country’s sovereignty.
“It is a collaboration, it is what we have been calling for,” Tuggar said on the breakfast show.
He said, “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.
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“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.”
Tuggar said Nigeria had long sought deeper collaboration with the United States and other countries to combat terrorism, describing the strike as a vindication of the Tinubu administration’s security strategy.
The minister added, “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 stressed that the operation had nothing to do with religion, noting 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.
“We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike, and then we spoke again for another five minutes before it went on,” he said.