Boko Haram: Jonathan Under Fresh US Pressure

PRESIDENT Jonathan is coming under intense international pressure to firm up his administration’s handling of the Boko Haram violence, which is now beginning to threaten his chances of staying in power beyond 2015.

This comes as indications emerged that the religious sect had issued fresh warnings to a Nigerian High Commission in a Southern African country, threatening attack if the authorities failed to comply with unstated demands.

An email sent to the High Commission, whose newly-appointed High Commissioner of South-South extraction is yet to assume duties, made a passive mention of “compensation”, otherwise what happened to some media houses in Nigeria would befall the Commission.

Sources close to the High Commission disclosed that the matter had been “transmitted” to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria and that officials “ are taking the threat very seriously,” by observing safety and security measures.

Informed US sources disclosed that the menace of Boko Haram is one of the issues that the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is looking to raise personally with President Jonathan with whom she has asked for a meeting early next month, as she prepares for what looks like her valedictory tour of selected African states.

As the Obama administration wraps up its first term ahead of November polls, it is believed that the wife of the former American President, Clinton, would not be part of Obama’s second term if he wins.

The US State Department is expected to announce the African tour later this week, and it is expected to take Hillary Clinton to Abuja and few other African capitals, but the Nigerian meeting is said to be high on the US’ agenda, as it is in other western capitals.

While the US government has named three Boko Haram leaders as terrorists, there are serious internal pressures from the Republicans in Congress and some other arms of the US executive arms of government to declare the entire Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO)

FOLLOWING recent attacks and killing of two Indian nationals and an Islamic cleric in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, 25 members of the Boko Haram sect have been apprehended by the Joint Task Force (JTF).

A gang of terrorists had, on Friday, also attacked one of the JTF’s patrol vehicles in the Shehuri ward of the metropolis at about 1pm.

The Task Force, however, repelled the gunmen, and killed two of the suspects, after an exchange of gunfire between the terrorists and soldiers that lasted for about 15 minutes.

In a press statement issued on Friday to newsmen in Maiduguri, the spokesman of JTF, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, said, “two of our personnel were wounded, and are responding to treatments of the injuries they

sustained in the attacks at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).

“Twenty-five suspects are, so far, arrested in connection with the episode,” adding that the area had been cordoned off to prevent any further attacks and killings in the metropolis.”