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Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan declares emergency in states | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | |
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' | '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. | "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. | At the same time, he stressed that - despite the state of emergency - politicians in the three states would remain in their posts. |
The president also admitted that the government was not in control of the whole country, the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos reports. | |
This is not the first time he has declared a state of emergency, our correspondent adds, but this is a clear admission that far from being weakened by the army offensive, the threat of the Islamist militants is growing. | |
Last week, Mr Jonathan had to cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the growing violence. |