Nigeria has declared a "state of emergency" in three states where the Islamist group Boko- Haram is rife.
Nigeria declares state of emergency in three states
Goodluck Jonathan as he declared state of emergency in the states of Yobe, Borno and
President Goodluck Jonathan declared the states of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, the three hardest hit by the insurgency.
He said more troops would "immediately" be deployed to the areas.
Mr Jonathan made a similar move in January last year following a spate of Boko Haram attacks, but in that case the decree only applied to specific local government areas in four states.
In seeking to impose the measure across a whole state, Jonathan must first secure the approval of Nigerian legislators, which he pledged to do.
The enhanced powers that come with the measure are unclear.
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When former President Olusegun Obasanjo invoked the measure twice in 2004 and 2006, he removed democratically elected governors and installed appointed administrators to manage the states, both former military officers.Mr Jonathan vowed that he would not employ that measure.
"The governors and other political office holders in the affected states will continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities," he said.
The Boko Haram insurgency, which the group says is aimed at creating an Islamic state in the country's mainly Muslim north, has cost some 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.
But a series of recent brazen attacks have raised concerns that insurgents have become emboldened, with Jonathan saying that the latest violence amounted to "a declaration of war".
About 2,000 security operatives and military
hardware, including fighter jets have been deployed to Maiduguri ahead
of yesterday’s declaration of State of Emergency.
More Tension increases in neighboring Yobe State, it is not clear how many soldiers were deployed but residents said shortly after the declaration of state of emergency, stop and search operations have been intensified in the state capital while movement have been restricted in other places. Residents said the deployment of the federal troops, including the army, navy, air force and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) began at the weekend.
“We started sensing danger on Saturday when we saw military trucks conveying soldiers to the Joint Task Force (JTF) headquarters along Pompomari area,” Usman Jika, a resident of Maiduguri said. “By Sunday morning, so many roadblocks have sprung up in the state capital and there was noticeable cordon and search of houses by new faces (soldiers),” he said.
A resident of Kumshe, one of the red spots in Maiduguri said his neighbour was beaten to pulp on Sunday when soldiers besieged the areas and forced all the people out of their houses.
“All the soldiers that came to the neighborhood appeared new in the town, some of them said it is now time for ‘fire for fire” he said.
Another resident said he saw military aircrafts landing at the Maiduguri International Airport and the air strip at the Air Force base in the state capital.
“A lot of fighting equipment have been deployed to Maiduguri,” Hajja Maimuna, a resident of Gomari, whose house is close to the Air Force base said.
“We are really terrified because the military operatives coming to Maiduguri in the last two days far outnumbered those that came during the previous emergency rule,” she said.
“Even though the state governor has not been removed, which is good, the truth is that Maiduguri is now a garrison town, full of angry soldiers who are ready to kill at the slightest provocation. The deployment will definitely hamper social and economic life of the people,” she said.
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