President
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has declared state of Emergency in Yobe, Adamawa and
Borno State, amidst rising insecurity in the States.
In imposing
the state of emergency today, President Jonathan wielded extra-Ordinary
measures by invokingSection 305, Sub section 1 of the 1999 constitution of
Nigeria.
However,
Mr. Jonathan stated that regardless of the state of emergency imposed
today, the governors in the three states will remain in office.
The
president had earlier met with the governors in the Aso Rock Villa late
afternoon shortly before the the broadcast. Jonathan held an emergency
meeting with security chiefs and some other top government officials in his bid
to address the spate of insecurity in many parts of the country, with the
latest being the killing of 47 policemen and 10 State Security Service
operatives by the Ombatse militia in Alakyo forest in Nasarawa State on
Tuesday.
They also
destroyed nine patrol vans.
Jonathan,
who rushed back to the country from South Africa late on Thursday, was said to
have reviewed reports from the security chiefs on recent violence in Baga and
Bama in Borno State; Alakyo Village in Nasarawa State; and Agatu Local
Government Area of Benue State.
Among those
at the meeting that lasted several hours were the Chief of Defence Staff,
Admiral Ola Said; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba; Chief of Air
Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh; Director-General of State Security Service,
Ita Ekpenyong; representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj-Gen. Emmanuel
Bassey; and Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar.
The IG wore
a black arm band to the meeting as a sign of mourning for the slain policemen.
Others at
the meeting were the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.);
Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retd.); Secretary to
the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim; and the Chief of Staff to the
President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.
At a point,
Olubolade, Anyim and Oghiadomhe stepped out of the venue wearing gloomy looks
while Jonathan and the security chiefs continued with the discussions.
By the time
the meeting finally ended, none of the government or security officials was
willing to speak with journalists.
They also
shielded Abubakar from journalists who sought an interview with him on the
killing of the policemen.
He simply
described the killing as “a sad development.”
A source at
the meeting however described it as “a stormy session.”
The source
said “far-reaching decisions,” some of which would be made public soon, and
others which would be kept under wraps for security reasons were taken at the
meeting.
Olubolade,
who was moved to tears, managed to answer reporters’ questions on the murder of
policemen.
•State of
emergency
Asked to
confirm speculations that government was considering the imposition of a state
of emergency in some states, he said, “That is not within my purview. They
(security chiefs) have the right to call for whatever they want. At the end of
the day, the President will take a decision.
“It was an
emergency security meeting at the instance of Mr. President. He had to cut his
journey short because of insecurity and loss of lives; he was supposed to have
been in Namibia. So, he summoned the security agencies to have a quick meeting
with us and as you can see, they are still there. The Chief of Defence Staff
and other service chiefs are still with him.
“He is
looking at how we can put an end to all these troubles we are having and I
think that at the end of that deliberation, you will get to know the outcome.”
He advised
policemen against revenge, saying such would not help the nation.
“The
security agencies particularly the police will not want to go and revenge. It
is not going to help us because they are supposed to protect lives and
property. Going to revenge will not douse tension. It will bring about a lack
of confidence in the system. So, we will strictly discourage that,” he said.
On the
allegation that policemen killed nine of the Ombatse cult members in Nasarawa
State first before they retaliated, the minister said, “I wouldn’t know what is
true about that. All I know is that the police have a duty to perform and as
such, they must not be afraid, they must be equipped, they must be trained,
they must do their job because they are under instructions. The police will not
just wake up and pick their leaders if nothing has gone wrong.
“The
populace must know that anybody can be brought in by the police for
interrogation depending on the intelligence the police get; and that is what
happens elsewhere.”
Meanwhile,
security sources said on Friday that government was considering the military
option to dislodge members of the Ombatse cult from their hideout in Alakyo
forest in Nasarawa State.
This
follows the inability of the police and SSS to accomplish the task.
•Death toll
now 47
Saturday
PUNCH learnt that 28 riot policemen who survived the attack were released by
the militia and returned to their base in Akwanga.
Some of
them returned to base without their rifles which they lost to their attackers.
The Public
Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Police Command, Michael Ada, confirmed the
return of the policemen to one of our correspondents on Friday.
He said
that 17 others were still missing, adding that they had been presumed dead
since they were yet to be seen two days after.
“The 17
missing policemen are presumed dead because they have been missing for over 48
hours. So this brings the number of the dead to 47. But the search and rescue
teams are still searching for the missing officers and they have yet to report
back to the headquarters,” Ada explained.
The
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abayomi Akeremale, also confirmed the return of the
28 policemen.
Akeremale
told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lafia that some of the policemen held
hostage by the group during the attack were released on Friday morning.
He said 17
corpses of the slain officers were yet to be recovered. He explained that a total
of 93 policemen were deployed for the operation, out of which 43 were suspected
to have been killed.
Akeremale
said that a suspected member of the militia had been arrested and was in police
custody, adding that investigations on the incident were going on.
Akeremale
also said he would visit the Squadron 38 Mopol Base in Akwanga to appeal to
spouses and children of the slain policemen, who blocked the Akwanga-Lafia
highway on Friday in protest over the killings.
•Protesters
block expressway
Meanwhile,
no fewer than 200 people travelling through Nasarawa State were on Friday
trapped in a village near Akwanga, in an attempt to avoid a roadblock by
protesting women and children.
NAN reports
that the women and children were protesting over the killing of policemen and
other security agents at Alakyo village by the Ombatse militia on Tuesday.
Following
the blockade, vehicles tried to go through bush paths but the protesters
blocked the paths, saying they were enforcing a restriction of movement through
the state.
Some of the
travellers told NAN that they were trapped in a remote village off Akwanga,
near a local government area primary school and had no protection.
They said
the women, who blocked the road, carried big sticks and were already burning
car tyres on the bush paths to demonstrate their anger and dismay over the
killings.
Commercial
transporters and private vehicle drivers were trapped in the blockade.
One of the
passengers, Mrs. Victoria Dzeremo, trapped with her daughter, Erdoo, said their
vehicle, a commercial bus, had been stopped from further movement few
kilometres off Akwanga.
“We have
been here in this bush for more than an hour; these women have blocked the road
and are demanding for government’s explanation over their husbands’ killings.
“They are
here with their children, we have been begging them since to allow us passage
but to no avail, the situation is quite serious.
“Now, they
have started burning the nearby bush and we are afraid the fire might escalate
and affect the vehicles,” Dzeremo said.
The Police
Public Relations Officer in-charge of Nassarawa State, DSP Michael Ada, said
Akeremale had directed the Area Commander to go and persuade the protesters to
open the road.
NAN learnt
the protesters insisted that they would only leave the road when their
delegation to Governor Tanko Al-Makura returns and gives them a feedback on
government’s position.
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