Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has revealed that Nigeria supplied the intelligence that led to the recent United States airstrike on terrorist targets in the country and also gave formal approval before the operation was carried out.
Tuggar made the disclosure on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television, a day after the United States confirmed it had conducted the strike as part of its counter-terrorism efforts.
According to the minister, the strike was the result of sustained security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States and had no religious motivation.
“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.”
Tuggar said Nigeria has consistently pushed for stronger international partnerships in tackling terrorism, describing the strike as a clear validation of the Tinubu administration’s security approach.
“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 banditry. 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 further stressed that religion played no role in the decision to carry out the operation, saying the focus was solely on protecting lives.
“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.”
The US President, Donald Trump, had on Thursday confirmed that American forces carried out an airstrike targeting suspected terrorist elements in Nigeria.
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