Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has confirmed that recent United States (US) airstrikes on Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Nigeria were carried out with the full approval of the Nigerian government.
Speaking on a breakfast television programme, Tuggar dismissed claims that the strikes violated Nigeria’s sovereignty, describing the operation as a product of joint security collaboration between both countries.
“It is a collaboration; it is what we have been calling for,” Tuggar said, noting that Nigeria provided the intelligence that led to the strikes.
According to the minister, he held extensive discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio before the operation and secured the consent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the strikes were launched.
“I spoke with the U.S. Secretary of State for 19 minutes before the strike. We agreed to brief President Tinubu, who gave his approval. I spoke again with him five minutes before the operation,” Tuggar said.
The United States Department of Defense confirmed on Thursday that several ISIS fighters were killed in the airstrikes, which were conducted at the request of the Nigerian government.
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US President Donald Trump also announced the operation, stating that the strikes were aimed at preventing the spread of extremist violence.
The Pentagon later released a video showing footage of the airstrike, while US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said the operation was conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities.
The strikes reportedly took place in parts of Sokoto State in northwestern Nigeria.
The development comes amid renewed U.S. scrutiny of insecurity in Nigeria.
While Trump has described attacks in the country as targeting Christians, Nigerian authorities have rejected that characterization, maintaining that victims of violence cut across religious and ethnic lines.
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