Jonathan ‘consulting’ on emergency rule

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday that he was consulting on the possibility of extending the state of emergency in the Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

The President, in a Presidential Media Chat in Abuja, added that the emergency rule was effective in containing insurgency contrary to claims in certain quarters.

He said the reason behind the state of emergency was not to suspend the democratic setting, including the affected state governors and the legislatures.

He added that the emergency rule was also not intended to launch a full scale war in the affected states because there must be rule of engagement.

Jonathan said the emergency rule had helped to facilitate search for illegal weapons and protect security agents against prosecution.

He added that those who were against its extension took the position out of frustration that terrorism had not stopped in the affected states since its declaration.

Jonathan explained that the security agencies had done creditably in fighting terrorism.

He stressed that terrorism “is not getting worse in the country”, because the security agencies had helped to curtail its frequency compared to when it started.

He decried the condemnation of security personnel adding that they needed timely information to aid their operations.

The President said Nigeria’s security agencies were capable of curtailing insurgency and that government was working hard to equip and improve their capacity.

“I have just approved the request for recruitment of more personnel and building capacity,” he said.

Jonathan said government was taking steps to address the challenge of illegal immigrants who were alleged to be behind terrorism in the country.

He said government was being careful in order not to go against the ECOWAS Convention on Free Movement of Persons and goods and other related international conventions.