The Sokoto State Government has said that there were no civilian casualties as a result of an airstrike on Thursday by the Nigerian military and United States Government in Tangaza Local Government Area
In a statement on Friday, the Director-General of Media and Publicity at the Sokoto State Government House, Abubakar Bawa however said that the impact of the airstrike could not be immediately determined, as the authorities await assessment of the joint operations.
Bawa further said that the circumstances of the objects found in a location near Jabo Town of Tambuwal Local Government Area could not also be immediately explained as the outcome of analysis by Nigerian and US military authorities is being awaited.
But the state government stressed that there was no civilian casualties recorded in Jabo as well.
‘Sokoto State welcomes any collaboration between Nigeria, and all relevant global stakeholders aimed at curbing the menace of terrorism and cross-border crimes in the State.
‘The ongoing operations are geared towards securing the State and ensuring the protection of lives and property of the citizenry’, the statement read.
It noted that, over the past two years, the state government had consistently supported security agencies in the fight against banditry and terrorism by providing necessary equipment to enhance safety across the State.
‘The state government therefore called on residents of affected areas to continue to cooperate with both the Federal and state governments by providing useful information to security agencies, in order to sustain ongoing efforts to restore lasting peace, and to continue to pray to Almighty Allah to assist our security agencies to defeat criminals in the state and the country at large’.
Earlier on Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar said that Nigeria sanctioned the United States’ strikes against terrorists in the country’s Northwest region.
On Christmas day, United States President Donald Trump announced a ‘powerful and deadly strike’ targeting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in the region.
Trump said on Truth Social that the terrorists targeted have been ‘viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!’
He said the group had not heeded warnings, leading to the Christmas night strike.
Hours after the announcements by Trump and the US Department of War, Tuggar told Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday: ‘Now that the US is cooperating, we would do it jointly, and we would ensure, just as the President emphasised yesterday before he gave the go-ahead, that it must be made clear that it is a joint operation, and it is not targeting any religion nor simply in the name of one religion or the other.
‘We are a multi-religious country, and we are working with partners like the US to fight terrorism and safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians’.
