president Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency across the troubled northeast, promising to send more troops to fight what he said was now an open rebellion by Islamic extremists.
"It would appear that there is a systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve," said president Jonathan.
Speaking live on state radio and television networks, Jonathan said the order would be in force in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states and that these states would receive more troops, though he would not remove state politicians from their posts.
Under Nigerian law, the president has the power to remove politicians from their posts and install a caretaker government in emergency circumstances.
Jonathan's speech offered a stark vision of the ongoing violence, often downplayed by security forces and government officials due to political considerations.
He described the attacks as a "rebellion", at one point describing how fighters had destroyed government buildings and had taken women and children as hostages.
"What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity," he said.
Since 2010, more than 1600 people have been killed in attacks by militants, according to an Associated Press count.
Recently, the military said militants now used anti-aircraft guns mounted on trucks to fight soldiers, likely outgunning the country's already overstretched security forces.
Meanwhile, violence pitting different ethnic groups against each other continues, with clashes that kill dozens at a time.
In addition, dozens of police officers and agents of the country's domestic spy agency were recently slaughtered by a militia.
No comments:
Post a Comment