Jonathan thanks military for flushing out terrorists

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday hailed the Armed Forces for flushing out Boko Haram members and other terrorists groups in the country.


Jonathan, who also vowed that his administration would not allow anybody to overwhelm the country, promised to resist “desperate moves” by some persons to distract him from providing a new lease of life for the citizens.

The President spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, while featuring on a Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria network news programme.

He said, “The whole point is that the Nigerian government cannot allow anybody to overwhelm the Nigerian state and it is the duty of the armed forces to ensure that that does not happen, to protect the sovereignty of Nigeria, to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria.”

He spoke, as suspected Boko Haram members in Borno State killed no fewer than 35 persons, including two soldiers and a police officer, on Sunday.

The President, however, said despite these killings, the emergency rule in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states had succeeded in restoring peace to the troubled parts of the country.

He claimed that security operatives had flushed out insurgents and terrorists who, before the emergency rule, had carved out enclaves for themselves.

He said, “The first point to note is that before the declaration of a state of emergency, the situation in the affected states was really bad. Socio-economic activities in the states had practically ceased. There was anxiety in the communities and beyond the affected parts of Nigeria.

“On a regular basis, there were either cases of detonation of bombs or harassment of people. There was a state of fear. But since the declaration of state of emergency by President Jonathan, a lot has been achieved. It was a very good tactical and strategic move as well as a very good demonstration of leadership, determination and focus by this present administration.”

Jonathan added, “Three months down the line, when you look at the affected places where the state of emergency was declared, the first thing you will note is that before then, the Boko Haram insurgents had carved out a part of Nigeria. They had created enclaves where they exercised authority but the security agencies have now flushed them out.

“I think the armed forces deserve commendation for being able to achieve this. Socio-economic activities have resumed in the affected states, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, and people can now go about their normal businesses. The level of fear before the declaration of state of emergency in those affected states was really high and even in the rest of the country, but that has gone down now.”