Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has disclosed that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the recent United States airstrike carried out in the country as part of a joint counterterrorism operation.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Tuggar said, “It was Nigeria that provided the intelligence for the US strike in Nigeria.”
He revealed that he held extensive consultations with the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, ahead of the operation.
“I was on the phone for about 19 minutes with the US Secretary of State twice.”
“We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike and another five minutes shortly before it went on,” he said.
According to the minister, the discussions culminated in consultations with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We agreed that I would speak with President Tinubu for him to give the go-ahead, and I did speak with him. It was agreed,” Tuggar stated.
He added that both countries were aligned on how the operation would be presented to the public.
“We also agreed that the statement that would follow would clearly show that this was a strike against terrorism, part of an ongoing joint operation between Nigeria and the United States,” he said.
Tuggar stressed that the operation had no religious undertone.
“This has nothing to do with religion. It is about protecting Nigerians,” the minister emphasized.
