The Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has accused the United States government of relying on human rights “fake news” to refuse the Nigerian military of necessary arms to counter terrorism and other major threats.
Tuggar disclosed this at The Wilson Center Africa Program, United States, where he was invited to speak on Wednesday.
The minister uploaded a video clip of his full speech at the program via his X page on Thursday.
According to the minister, the international community now understands that its interests are best served when it helps support African-led solutions to African problems, as implemented by the Nigerian government.
The minister decried human rights allegation reports that countries like the U.S. are leveraging to deny Nigeria requisite weapons to remove terrorists and other national and internal security threats.
The event is the latest in Tuggar’s working visit to the U.S. aimed at fostering stronger bilateral relations with the host country.
The minister submitted that the fragility of democracy, climate change, migration issues, violent extremism, and other organized crime are issues affecting every country, including Nigeria.
Tuggar further explained that though there have been isolated incidents of human rights abuses, the Nigerian army and security institutions remain committed to human rights while fighting enemies that have used children and suicide bombers to attack markets and other soft targets.
He added that in 2016, the Nigerian army launched a human rights desk to better identify and respond to such cases of human rights abuses.
The minister maintained that the decision by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a threat to ongoing counter-terrorism efforts.
He warned that the development will embolden military factions as well as armed groups in the African region.