Nigeria's Jonathan declares state of emergency
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of Nigeria plagued by a violent Islamist insurgency, and ordered shut the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger in the north-east.
Coming nearly a week after radical sect Boko Haram set off a series of bombs across Nigeria on Christmas Day, including one at a church that killed at least 37 people and wounded 57, Jonathan told state television the measures would aim to restore security in troubled parts of Nigeria's north.
"The temporary closure of our borders in the affected areas is only an interim measure designed to address the current security challenges and will be resumed as soon as normalcy is restored," he said.
He added that his chief of defence staff had been instructed to take other "appropriate" measures, including setting up a special counterterrorism force.
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-01-01-nigerias-jonathan-declares-state-of-emergency
