[ 2012-01-01 ]

Nigeria enters 2012 under state of emergency
LAGOS (AFP) - Nigeria began the new year on Sunday
overshadowed by a state of emergency declared in
areas hit by Islamist attacks, as it seeks to end
spiralling violence that has shaken Africa's most
populous nation.

President Goodluck Jonathan's declaration on
Saturday gives security agencies more powers to
search and arrest, seals off borders in hard-hit
areas and establishes a military counter-terrorism
force.

The declaration comes in response to scores of
attacks blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram,
particularly a wave of bombings on Christmas Day
that killed 49 people, most in a gruesome blast at
a Catholic church as services were ending.

While Boko Haram has been carrying out
increasingly deadly attacks for months, including
an August suicide bombing of UN headquarters in
Abuja that left 25 dead, the Christmas violence
sparked intense fear and outrage.

It also led to warnings from Christian leaders
that they would defend themselves if such attacks
continued, raising deep concern in a country
roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and
predominately Christian south.

In declaring the state of emergency in Africa's
largest oil producer, Jonathan acknowledged that
the attacks "have threatened our collective
security and shaken the foundations of our
corporate existence as a nation."

Jonathan said in a nationwide broadcast that "it
has become imperative to take some decisive
measures necessary to restore normalcy in the
country especially within the affected
communities."

"Consequently, I have... declared a state of
emergency in the following parts of the
federation," he said, listing parts of the states
of Borno, where Boko Haram traditionally has its
base, as well as Yobe, Niger and Plateau.

Earlier Saturday, he visited the church where the
bloodiest Christmas attack occurred and branded
Boko Haram a "cancerous" group bent on destroying
Nigeria while vowing it would be crushed.

The measures and rhetoric marked a sharp change
for Jonathan, who has come under mounting
criticism over the authorities' failure to stop
the violence.

Many of his previous pronouncements sought to
minimise the attacks and reassure the country that
the violence was only temporary and would soon be
brought to an end despite near daily shootings and
bombings.

It was not clear whether the emergency declaration
had taken immediate effect. Jonathan said the
proclamation would be sent to parliament when it
reconvenes after the holidays.

While some welcomed the declaration following
months of violence, others raised concerns that it
would provide legal cover for soldiers to carry
out further abuses.

A military task force in Borno state has been
accused in recent months of killing civilians and
burning homes after bomb attacks, claiming
residents collaborated with the extremists.

"The declaration of a state of emergency by the
federal government will not stop or reduce the
spate of violence across the affected areas, but
will simply be a blank cheque for human rights
violations by security agents," said
northern-based rights activist Shehu Sani.

"Civilians will continue to be at the mercy of the
military and the militants. Dialogue still remains
the valid option to end this bloodletting."

In a sign of the challenges facing Nigeria, some
50 people were killed in clashes between two
neighbouring communities in southeastern Ebonyi
state on Saturday, a government spokesman said,
but the clashes were not linked to attacks by Boko
Haram, he added.

Ebonyi police on Sunday estimated the death toll
at between 38 and 40.

Hundreds of people have been killed this year
alone in attacks blamed on Boko Haram, most in the
northeast.

An early version of the group formed in 2004,
though it has taken on different forms since that
time. It launched an uprising in 2009 put down by
a brutal military assault which left some 800
dead.

While Boko Haram initially sought the creation of
an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria, a number
of people have since claimed to speak on its
behalf and issued a range of demands.

It is believed to have several factions, including
those with political links as well as radical
Islamist cells.

There has been intense speculation over whether it
has formed links with outside extremist groups,
such as Al-Qaeda's north African branch.

Source - AFP

... go Back