Nigerian President to Name Anti-Terrorism Adviser
VOA News
03 January 2011
Photo: AFP
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan speaks during a press conference (file photo – 07 Dec 2010)
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan plans to name a special adviser on terrorism, following a wave of deadly violence around the country.
The president’s spokesman, Ima Niboro, said Monday that Mr. Jonathan will appoint the adviser in the next week. He said the president will also work with parliament to ensure speedy passage of an anti-terrorism bill.
The spokesman said Mr. Jonathan held emergency talks with his security chiefs Monday to discuss the recent attacks.
A bomb blast in Abuja on New Year’s eve killed at least four people and injured 26.
A week earlier, 80 people were killed in bomb blasts that struck the central city of Jos and violence in the city of Maiduguri.
The radical Islamic group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the Jos bombings. Authorities also blame the group for a series of recent attacks on police and government officials around Maiduguri.
The latest attack happened Monday, when a police officer was shot near his house by two men who had followed him home from work.
In a separate incident, police said Monday that unidentified gunmen set a church on fire in Maiduguri late Saturday. No one was killed or wounded.
Boko Haram appears to have re-emerged after clashes with the police and military in July 2009 that killed about 700 people.
The group wants strict Islamic law imposed across Nigeria. Its name in the Hausa language means “Western education is a sin.”
The upswing in violence has hit Nigeria as it prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections, set for April.
