The Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd) has said the swift operation by the United States to rescue her citizen held hostage by bandits on Nigerian soil was approved by the Federal Government.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had said the rescue mission confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari could neither secure the territorial integrity of the nation nor arrest the wave of insecurity ravaging the country under his “inept watch.”
The party described the situation as an international embarrassment and that it showed how low the Buhari presidency had fallen in its failure to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the country.
But responding to questions from reporters after defending the Ministry of Defence 2021 Budget estimates before the Senate Committee on Defence, in Abuja, the minister said that federal government granted the USA permission to operate in the country being a “friendly 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.”
The minister, however, did not open up on his the country was benefitting from the relationship with the US.
He said, “It is something that can be discussed later. It is not meant for the consumption of the public. To be honest but certainly we are making efforts and they have been helping us greatly in areas where we have difficulties and we are still asking for more.”
He, however, admitted that some developed countries were making it difficult for Nigeria to obtain some security technology in fighting insurgency.
“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,” Magashi said.
