Tinubu Gave the Go-ahead For US Airstrike Against Terrorists In North-Western-Presidency Confirms

The Presidency says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu gave the go-ahead for the US strikes against terrorists in the Nigeria’s North-Western region. 

Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar confirmed this on Friday, hours after the US Department of War and President Donald Trump had earlier announced the airstrikes against the terrorists conducted by the North American nation 

The Minister who was speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said that the operations against terrorists would be jointly carried out between the Nigerian government and US but not targeted at any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other

“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 clarified 

“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 Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the strikes in Sokoto were in “coordination with Nigerian authorities.”

“The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” Hegseth wrote on X.

The Thursday’s strikes was carried out several weeks after President Trump claim of Christian “genocide” in Nigeria which authorities in the West African country had rejected, insisting that violence in the country should not be seen as targeted against a particular religion 

Trump who placed Nigeria back on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern,” threatened military action in the country if the issue is not addressed. 

He later imposed visa restrictions on Nigerians.

But the Nigerian authorities kicked against the narrative, maintaining that people of diverse faiths are targeted in killings in the nation.