Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd), has said last weekend military operation by the United States elite commandos to rescue its citizen on Nigerian soil received its blessing.
General Magashi made the declaration, on Tuesday, shortly after defending his ministry’s budget before the Senate Committee on Defence.
The United States Naval Special Warfare Group, the SEAL Team Six, has rescued Philip Walton, a United States citizen held in captivity in Nigeria.
Mr Walton was kidnapped in the Niger Republic but rescued by the SEAL TEAM Six in a neighbouring town in northern Nigeria.
There has been insinuation that the Nigerian military and by extension, its government was in the dark about the United States military operation.
Addressing newsmen at the National Assembly complex, General Magashi said Nigeria granted the US permission to carry out the military operation and maintained that Nigeria’s sovereignty was not violated.
He 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.”
The Defence Minister, however, expressed concern that Nigeria was handicapped in its war against the insurgents by some “so-called developed countries who want the country to remain the way it is and keep running to them for help.”
“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.”
General Magashi further assured that Nigeria would continue to explore its current warm relationship with the United States to tackle insurgency in the country.
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