As comments continue to emanate from different quarters regarding the airstrikes carried out by the United States government in Sokoto State and other parts of the Northern region, the federal government of Nigeria has announced that the country provided military intelligence for the operations.
Speaking this Friday during an interview with Channels Television, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar,
Tuggar made it clear that authorities in Nigeria and the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, discussed the strike.
Tuggar, restated the country’s commitment to working with all stakeholders, including America, in the efforts to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnappings and all other forms of criminality and stop the death of innocent Nigerians.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu gave the go-ahead before the missiles were launched, and the operation is not targeted at any religion or ethnic group.
He emphasized, “It was Nigeria that provided intelligence for the US strike in Nigeria. We spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio twice: once 19 minutes before the strike and another time 5 minutes before it went on.
“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.
“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.”
