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Nigeria: Jonathan declares state of emergency in areas affected by Boko Haram violence
Jonathan, a Christian from the south, upset many northerners by running for and winning the presidency in April, which in the eyes of many tore up a tacit deal to rotate the top job between a northerner and a southerner every two terms.
More than 500 people were killed in post-election violence in the north after Jonathan’s victory, reflecting long-standing northern grievances about perceived alienation and exclusion by the central government from the fruits of national oil riches, concentrated in the south.
Crush the terrorists
Earlier in the day, Jonathan visited the scene of the deadliest Christmas attack, on St. Theresa’s Catholic church in Madalla, on the outskirts of Abuja.
“We will crush the terrorists. If there are institutions, which are harboring terrorists, we will deal with them,” he told weeping relatives of the victims gathered in the church, amid tight security by dozens of armed soldiers.
Traces of the devastation were still evident, with the church windows shattered and glass on the ground.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushua Shuaib said authorities were on “full alert” for more attacks.
“The government has put security throughout the federation, including near the flashpoints. We are optimistic, but we are fully mobilized,” he told Reuters.
The government held an emergency meeting with security officials on Thursday and is also looking at using other channels to stop the conflict, which started as a local northern problem but is fast destabilizing the whole country.
