Defence Minister, Major- General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari was not only in the know but also approved the United States Naval Seal forces hostage rescue operation carried out in Nigeria.....
He made this clarification to douse insinuations that the rescue of a kidnapped American citizen by the United States special military forces may have violated the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
Magashi spoke with journalists shortly after defending the Ministry of Defence 2021 budget estimates before the Senate Committee on Defence in Abuja.
He was assertive that Buhari administration granted the USA permission to operate in the country being a “friendly country.”
Responding to questions on the need for the Nigerian military to deploy similar sophomore technology in the fight against insecurity; Magashi said Nigeria is handicapped at the moment by some “so-called developed countries who want the country to remain the way it is and keep running to them for help.
While stressing that the country was doing the best it can with what is available to the military, the Minister said that Nigeria will explore the current partnership with the United States to tackle insurgency in the country.
Magashi said: “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.” On comments that Some countries are trying to block Nigeria from owning some technologies to fight insurgency,” the Minister said: “It is natural.
They want to sell their equipment so they will try to make it difficult for developing countries to have what they want.”
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