Sunday, 8 January 2012
~Boko Haram sympathisers 'are in government and security agencies'- Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria.~Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian president, has claimed that sympathisers of Boko Haram, the Islamist sect responsible for a series of bombings around the country, are present in the government and security agencies. Mr Jonathan, speaking at a church service, said the situation in Nigeria was even worse than the 1967-70 civil war that killed more than a million people. "During the civil war, we knew and we could even predict where the enemy was coming from ... But the challenge we have today is more complicated," he said. Describing the extent of the problem, he said Boko Haram members and sympathisers could be found throughout society. "I remember when I had a meeting with elders from the northeast and some parts of the northwest where the Boko Haram phenomenon is more prevalent," he said. He added that "some of them are in the executive arm of government, some of them are in the parliamentary/legislative arm of government, while some of them are even in the judiciary. "Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies." There has long been claims of political links to factions of Boko Haram, which has been blamed for intensifying violence that has killed hundreds, including attacks targeting Christians and churches in recent weeks. But it was the first time Mr Jonathan made the case publicly in such strong terms. His comments come with his government under mounting pressure to stop the violence and amid warnings from Christians that they will defend themselves. The violence blamed on Boko Haram has sparked fears of a wider religious conflict in a country whose 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Mr Jonathan declared a state of emergency in hard hit areas on December 31, but the violence, including gun and bomb attacks, has only continued and expanded into other locations.
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