US Action: Anti-Terror Strikes Will Be Sustained — Yusuf Tuggar
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has said that the fight against terrorism in Nigeria would be a sustained and “ongoing process,” involving cooperation with the United States and other international partners.
This follows a midnight US military airstrike carried out in northwestern Nigeria on Christmas Day, targeting suspected Islamic State (IS) militants.
Speaking on Channels Television on Friday, Tuggar disclosed that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the US operation, noting that the strike was executed with the approval of President Bola Tinubu.
“It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence,” Tuggar said, adding that he held extensive telephone discussions with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, before the strike was carried out.
“We spoke twice. We spoke for 19 minutes before the strike and then we spoke again for another five minutes before it went on,” he said.
According to the minister, the conversations were detailed, and President Tinubu subsequently gave the go-ahead for the military action.
Tuggar explained that the operation would not be a one-off intervention, stressing that the anti-terror campaign would be an “ongoing process” and would also involve cooperation with other countries, though he did not disclose further details.
He further emphasised that Nigeria’s approach to counter-terrorism is not influenced by religious considerations.
“Our approach to the fight against terrorism is not influenced by the religion of the victims, whether they are Muslims or Christians, and irrespective of what type of terrorism,” Tuggar said.
The US strike came amid diplomatic tensions between Abuja and Washington following remarks by former US President Donald Trump, who had accused terrorist groups in Nigeria of carrying out mass killings of Christians.
Reacting to the strike, Trump said on social media that he had earlier warned the terrorists to stop the killings or face severe consequences.
Meanwhile, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that “multiple ISIS terrorists” were killed in the airstrike carried out in Sokoto State.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
