President Bola Tinubu
Nigeria’s fight against terrorism received a fresh boost on Friday as the Federal Government confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu personally approved the recent airstrikes carried out by the United States against terrorist targets in the North-West.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, just hours after the US Department of Defense and President Donald Trump announced that American forces had conducted precision strikes on terrorist enclaves in the region.
According to Tuggar, the operation was neither unilateral nor imposed on Nigeria, stressing that it followed clear approval from President Tinubu and was executed as a joint effort.
“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,” the minister said.
He emphasised that Nigeria’s diversity remains a guiding principle in all security engagements, noting that the battle against terrorism has nothing to do with faith or ethnicity.
“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,” Tuggar added.
Addressing concerns in some quarters that the airstrikes amounted to a breach of Nigeria’s territorial integrity, the foreign minister dismissed such claims, insisting that the Federal Government would never endorse any action that undermines the nation’s sovereignty.
Tuggar reassured Nigerians that all international security collaborations are carefully guided by national interest, legality, and respect for Nigeria’s independence, as the government intensifies efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and restore lasting peace across the country.
