Nigerian President declares state of emergency

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states after a series of deadly attacks by Islamist militant groups, BBC News reported.

The military will take "all necessary action" to "put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists" in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, he said.

Jonathan also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.

Militants from Boko Haram have been blamed for most of the violence, which has left 2,000 people dead since 2010. The Islamist group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state in the north.

Nigeria - a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people - is also affected by a spate of conflicts over land, religion and oil.

In the latest violence, 53 people were killed and 13 villages burnt in central Nigeria's Benue state on Tuesday.

The conflict, which started last week, is said to have been caused by a dispute over land ownership between cattle herders and farmers.

In a pre-recorded address broadcast on Tuesday, President Jonathan said: "What we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity."

Referring to recent attacks on government buildings and killings of officials and other civilians, he said that "these actions amount to a declaration of war".

"We will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice," the president said.