By the middle of this year, the federal government and its security
forces will have control over the security challenges posed by Boko
Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan stated yesterday.
In an interview with the Yonhap, the official news agency of
South Korea, in Seoul, Jonathan said that, at present, his government
has reasonable control over the activities of the religious group, as
their attacks are only being perpetrated in some parts of the country.
"In terms of security challenges, in some parts of country we have
terrorist attacks. But it doesn't affect the whole country. We are in
reasonable control. We have belief that, by the middle of this year, in
terms of security of individuals, we will have control. (The danger) is
limited to some parts of the country. It doesn't extend to other parts
of country," he said.
Jonathan, who arrived in Seoul on Sunday to attend the two-day summit
together with representatives from 52 other nations and four
international organisations discussed how to prevent terrorists from
getting hold of nuclear weapons and ensuring atomic safety. The Nigerian
leader also asked South Korean businesses to expand their investments
in building Nigeria's infrastructure for the energy and
telecommunication sectors in particular.
Asked how he has been able to address issues of political stability
which is important for foreign investors, the Nigerian president blamed
investor-related problem on past military governments.
He said: "There is one key area that I want to emphasise. Nigeria is a
very, very green area for investors. Before this time, during the
military rule, you didn't know who was the next president. When the new
government comes, there is a new policy and those policies are not
attractive to investors. Basically from 1999 to date, we have
established democratic government.
"I am the president. Before I took over, I was vice-president. The
president was very ill and people thought there would be military
intervention. Today, we have conducted election. Politically, we are
stable. For investors, Nigeria has strong law and media. No president
can just change a law that can affect investors. Especially, we
encourage investors.
"Nigeria is a country with lots of natural resources. South Korea, on
the other hand, is industrialised. So, if the two countries commit
together, they can really enhance development. As Africa's number one
oil-producing country."
Meanwhile, suspected members of Boko Haram in Maiduguri, Borno State
have reportedly killed the biological father of Boko Haram spokesperson
"Abul Qaqa". Alhaji Abdullahi Jimoh, a former Deputy Comptroller of
Nigerian Prison Service was killed by suspected members of Boko Haram.
A security source told SaharaReporters that Jimoh was killed
with a friend in front of his home at the back of Railway Quarters in
Maiduguri late Monday night, but it was yesterday that it became clearer
that he was the father of Abul Qaqa, the detained spokesperson of the
sect whom the SSS and Nigerian Army captured in Kaduna recently.
The source said that the father has been out of Maiduguri city for
some time and just returned to the troubled town recently. The identity
of the second person killed with Jimoh is still unknown, while Boko
Haram is yet to claim responsibility for the killings.
In a related development, five al-Qaeda suspects linked to North
Africa have been arrested in Kano by men of the State Security Services
(SSS) over the kidnapping of a German engineer, Edgar Raupach, in
January.
LEADERSHIP gathered that four of the al-Qaeda suspects, including a
Mauritanian, were arrested last Thursday in a raid on a supermarket
owned by the Mauritanian in the city of Kano while the fifth suspect was
arrested in a separate raid.
A source within the security service was quoted as saying that guns
and a laptop, containing al-Qaeda documents, were recovered in the
supermarket raid.
Raupach was kidnapped on the outskirts of Kano in January. Al-Qaeda
in the Maghreb said last week that it was holding the German while a
private news agency in Mauritania said the group wanted to swap him for a
jailed Muslim woman.
Culled from Leadership.ng
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