The federal government of Nigeria has confirmed that the country provided military intelligence for the airstrikes carried out by the United States government in Sokoto State and other parts of the Northern region.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, explained this on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television.
Tuggar explained that authorities in Nigeria spoke with the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, before the strike and when it went on.
According to the minister, Nigeria remains committed 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.
“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 five minutes before it went on,” he said.
During the interview, Tuggar stated that the airstrike is a joint collaboration between the United States and Nigeria.
He further confirmed that President Bola Tinubu gave the go-ahead before the missiles were launched, and the operation is not targeted at any religion or ethnic group.
“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,” the Minister said.
The US airstrike has dominated the Nigerian media space, including the internet, with many citizens and analysts giving their opinions. One of the commentators, Sheikh Gumi, condemned the strike, calling on the government to immediately halt all joint military cooperation with the US.