Defense Minister Bashir Magashi said the United States Army got Nigeria’s permission to rescue its citizen in northern Nigeria.

He said this to journalists at the National Assembly on Tuesday, shortly after the ministry’s budget defence.

This comes three days after the Naval Special Warfare group in the United States, popularly addressed as SEAL Team Six, rescued Philip Walton, a 27-year old U.S. citizen held hostage in Nigeria.

The chief Pentagon spokesperson, Jonathan Hoffman, said in a statement that the U.S. forces conducted the operation during the early hours of 31 October.

Abdullahi Hassan reports.