Yusuf Tuggar, Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister, says the United States carried Nigeria along before conducting air strikes in north-western Nigeria on Christmas day.
Tuggar spoke during an interview on ChannelsTV on Friday.
The minister added that he was locked in discussions with Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, before the strike — and shared details of the conversation with President Bola Tinubu, before the US air raid on terrorist hideouts in Sokoto.
He said Tinubu was clear on the operation being a joint one and harped on respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty in the collaboration against terrorism.
“It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence,” Tuggar said.
“I was on the phone yesterday for 19 minutes with Marco Rubio, United States secretary of state. We spoke extensively and we agreed that I was going to speak with President Tinubu to give the go-ahead.
“I did speak with Tinubu and it was agreed that the statements that would follow would be statements that would show clearly that it is a strike against terrorism and it is a part of the ongoing joint operations between Nigeria and the United States.
“And that the operation would have nothing to do with religion but would be about protecting Nigerians and innocent lives.
“This was clear. Rubio and I spoke twice. We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike and for another five minutes before it went on.”
Asked if it was an ongoing operation, the minister answered in the affirmative.
“We are working with the US, we are working with other countries as well,” he added.
“For all those that are prepared to work with us to combat terrorism, to ensure security in our region, in Nigeria itself, we are ready to cooperate and collaborate.”
US President Donald Trump had redesignated Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ following claims of Christian persecution in the West African nation.
In November, Trump threatened to go into Nigeria “guns-a-blazing to wipe out the Islamic terrorists” targeting “our cherished Christians”.
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