Dennis Amachree, a former assistant director of the Department of State Services (DSS), has characterized the recent US airstrikes on militants in the northwest of Nigeria as a planned warning rather than a haphazard military operation.
Amachree stated on Channels Television today that the operation warns terrorists and those who support them that there will be prolonged military action.
“The message is quite clear. It serves as a warning to terrorists and those who support them, wherever they may be. He emphasized that insecurity should no longer be politicized by saying, “I think the raids will continue.”
“We cannot continue to sidestep the actual problems that have existed for years and make it political.”
The former head of the DSS clarified that precision-guided missiles and extremely advanced MQ-9 Reaper Predator drones were used in the operations. He emphasized that these kinds of actions are simply too costly to be incidental or symbolic.
“The MQ-9 Reaper Predator drone, which is very expensive, delivered the precision-guided missiles that were used,” Amachree stated.
The missiles employed in the strikes cost roughly two million dollars each, while the Reaper drone itself costs between thirty and thirty-three million dollars.
“I don’t believe that the United States would wake up one day and decide to throw its money somewhere in the desert.”
His remarks follow Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar’s confirmation that Nigeria formally requested and approved the US strikes, which killed a number of militants in Sokoto State.
The strikes that were carried out in the North-West on Thursday were previously confirmed by the United States.
International cooperation against terrorism in the northwest of Nigeria has significantly increased as a result of the strikes.
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