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Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan declares emergency in three states

A Nigerian soldier stands beside a burnt house after the army clashed with Boko Haram insurgents in Borno state. Photo: April 2013


Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups. 

In a televised address, he said he had given the military powers to take over security in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

He also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.

Islamist group Boko Haram has been blamed for most of the violence, killing some 2,000 people since 2010.

Nigeria is also affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil.

E-biz24/7 gathered that, in the latest violence, 53 people were killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria's Benue state on Tuesday.

The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a long-running dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers.

'We will hunt them down' 

In a pre-recorded address broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan said: "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."

Referring to recent attacks by "insurgents and terrorists" on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians, he said that "these actions amount to a declaration of war".

"We will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice," the president said. 

At the same time, he stressed that - despite the state of emergency - politicians in the three states would remain in their posts.

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