President
Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest attacks carried out by suspected
members of terror group Boko Haram.
More than 50 people died last week after three
separate attacks in the country. At least 42 people died in two attacks in
Borno state which followed the deaths of at least 10 people at a market in Yobe
state killed by a child suicide bomber, believed to be aged 12.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast in
Yobe, but suspicion has already fallen on Boko Haram, which is renowned for
kidnapping civilians — mainly women and children — and forcing them to
participate in attacks throughout the north-east, where the terrorists aim to
establish an Islamic caliphate.
“They [Boko Haram] will not find Nigeria a safe haven,
because they would be hunted down without mercy and compromise,” Buhari said in
a statement issued by the President’s spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu.
“No sane people who believe in any God would be
destroying the lives of innocent people in cold blood, terrorists don’t
represent any religion.
“Make no mistake about it: this government is ever
determined to discharge its fundamental duty of protecting the lives of its
citizens from physical threats from any groups bent on creating chaos,
confusion, and on destroying social and economic life of the people,” the
statement said.
The Nigerian government is being aided by mercenaries
and troops from Chad, Benin, Niger and Cameroon in its offensive and has scored
some successes since the military co-operation started in February.
Buhari, a former military chief, vowed Nigeria will do
anything it can to defeat the deadly insurgence and find some 220 girls
kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno state, in April last year.
The government has denied an alleged plan to relocate
dozens of Boko Haram suspects to the Ekwulobia Prison in Anambra state,
southern Nigeria.
The denial came days after dozens of people in Anambra
took to the streets to protest against the relocation. According to local
reports, people shut their shops in several cities including the capital Awka,
Onitsha, Nnewi, Ekwulobia and Agulu.
Protesters held banners reading “Buhari should not
destroy the peace in Anambra State” and “We do not want Boko Haram in Anambra”.
Some protesters also chanted “We want Biafra”,
referring to Nigeria’s Eastern Region, which became a secessionist state called
Republic of Biafra after gaining independence from Nigeria in 1967. It was
re-annexed in 1970 following the Nigerian-Biafran war that claimed one million
lives.
People in the Eastern Region, mainly from the Igbo
community, wanted to secede due to ethnic, religious and economic differences
with other communities in Nigeria following independence from Britain in 1960.
After independence, Nigeria was comprised of
territories that were not part of the nation before the colonisation, resulting
in escalating tensions among the communities.
The Eastern Region gained independence following two
coup d’etats in 1966 and 1967. The fact that Nigeria’s oil was located in the
south of the country played a major role in the eruption of the war, during
which medicines and food shortage in Biafra led to the death of thousands of
people.
A movement to re-secede is present in south-eastern
Nigeria today. The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of
Biafra (Massob) fights for the independence of South-East and South-South
regions of Nigeria.
The Nigerian government has accused Massob of violence
and his leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, was arrested in 2005 on treason charges. He
was released two years later.
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