Airstrikes Acceptable Only With Right Targets – Rafsanjani

Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, has said foreign military interventions could be justified in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism only if the correct criminal targets were identified and eliminated.

Speaking on ARISE News television yesterday, Rafsanjani blamed Nigeria’s worsening insecurity on long-standing failure to implement genuine security sector reforms and deep-rooted corruption within the security architecture.

He said, “It is worth it if you are actually getting the right target. If you are getting the right criminal, eliminate them, destroy them. It is the right decision.” He said the United States does not necessarily need Nigeria’s consent before taking security actions it deems necessary, describing claims to the contrary as unrealistic.

“America, the way it is, doesn’t need approval of Nigeria to do what they want to do,” he said, “when Trump was issuing his tweet, what facts are you looking for before issuing it?”

The CISLAC executive director maintained that Nigeria’s insecurity was largely self-inflicted, accusing successive administrations of failing to prioritise reforms.