The Nigerian government has said it granted the United States special forces permission to rescue its citizen in the Northern region of the country, with sources telling ARISE News the operation was carried out in Sokoto state.
The country’s Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi also said the rescue operation by the US special forces was not a violation of the country’s sovereignty.
“The United States of America contacted the Nigerian government to undertake that operation. There is nothing wrong with a friendly nation taking permission to conduct an operation which is for the mutual good of the countries. That is why we allowed it to happen,” Magaji said when he spoke with journalists at the National Assembly.
The mission was undertaken by elite commandos as part of a major effort to free the US citizen, Philip Walton, 27, before his abductors could get far after taking him captive in Niger on October 26.
Magashi said the country was doing the best it could with what was available to the military to deploy adequate technology in its operations.
He noted that Nigeria would explore the current partnership with the United States to tackle insurgency in the country.
By Abel Ejikeme