Nigerian president gets tough on militants

  1. Posted on Wednesday 29 July 2009 - 08:24
    Murtala
    Image of Murtala
    Murtala Mohamed Kamara, AfricaNews reporter in Freetown, Sierra Leone
    The Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has directly ordered security forces in the West African state to use '"all necessary means'" to end clashes between the Bokum Haram militant group which opposes western education and the country's police force which have claimed more than 150 lives.
    nigerian president
    The clashes which started last weekend following the arrest and detention of leaders of Bokum Haram in Bauchi and Maiduguri have spread to three other States in the north of that country including Borno, Kano and Yobe States.

    Members of the Bokum Haram armed with guns and grenades stormed the Dutsen Tanshi police station to set free their leaders in the ensuing battle which lasted for hours left a police station burnt down and its immediate environs. The Nigerian Police force in their retaliatory attacks killed and arrested hundreds of militants including items such as uniforms, military boots, explosives and lives ammunition.

    President Yar'Adua, who is also the commander in chief of the country's armed forces, has ordered his security forces to take all necessary action to put an end to the violence by militants. "It is the government that has moved to nip a potentially dangerous problem in the bud," the BBC quoted him.

    Yar'Adua said further before leaving for Brazil on an official assignment that "these people have been organizing, penetrating our societies, procuring arms, learning how to make explosives and bombs to disturb the peace and force abuse on the rest of Nigerians.” The Nigerian president expressed optimism that "and I believe the operation we have launched now will be an operation that will contain them once and for all."

    Latest report indicates that resident's in those affected areas have been asked to leave while military aircraft have been seen taking off from Jos state.

    Nigeria's 150 million population is mainly made up of Muslim in the North and Christians in South of the country. The country has a record for religious clashes which has left hundreds dead and properties destroyed. The Bokum Haram is known in certain quarters as the country's Taliban but terrorism experts have not been able to establish links between the two groups.

    Some Christian leaders have said in their statement that they had not received any report of Christians been targeted in the three days battle as at press time.

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