On this day, 14th of May in 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three Nigerian states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.
The declaration was made by the president during a nationwide broadcast carried live on national televisions.
According to the president, the military will take “all necessary action” to “put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists” in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe.
Mr Jonathan also ordered more troops to be sent to the north-eastern states.
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.
“The chief of defence staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations.
“The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action… to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists.”
At the same time, he stressed that – despite the state of emergency – politicians in the three states would remain in their posts.
The president has the power to sack local politicians and install a caretaker government in emergency circumstances.
“Already, some northern parts of Borno state have been taken over by groups whose allegiance are to different flags than Nigeria’s,” he said.
Later, a spokesman for the president, Doyin Okupe, said the governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa had been “very well briefed” and were “in full support” of the decision to declare a state of emergency.
“There’s a need for the government to step in and do the necessary to once and for all find a way out of this quagmire,” he told the BBC.
