Goodluck Jonathan: Nigerian girls' abduction a turning point
President Goodluck Jonathan: "I believe we will bring terror to an end in Nigeria"
The
abduction of more than 200 Nigerian girls by Boko Haram could be a
turning point in the battle against Islamist militants, Nigeria's leader
has said.
In his speech, he also thanked China, the US, the UK and France for their offers of help to rescue the girls.
Their kidnapping three weeks ago has caused outrage worldwide.
For the past week there have been daily protests countrywide calling for more to be done to find the girls
Boko Haram's leader has threatened to "sell" the abducted schoolgirlsAt least 1,200 people are estimated to have died in the violence and security crackdown this year alone.
The schoolgirls were kidnapped from their boarding school on the night of 14 April from the town of Chibok in Borno state.
In a video released earlier this week, Boko Haram's leader threatened to "sell" the students, saying they should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married.
Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai: "If we remain silent then this will spread"
She told the BBC that "if we remain silent then this will spread, this will happen more and more and more".
Safe schools initiative
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Boko Haram at a glance
- Thousands killed in attacks, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria
- State of emergency declared in three states in 2013 but violence continues
- Some three million people affected
- Declared terrorist group by US in 2013
- Founded in 2002
- Initially focused on opposing Western education
- Nicknamed Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden" in the local Hausa language
- Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
President Jonathan was addressing
delegates at the World Economic Forum for Africa in the capital, Abuja,
which has recently been hit by two attacks blamed on Boko Haram.
"If you had refused to come because of fear, the terrorists would have jubilated."
The president said China had promised to assist in the search for the girls - and he also thanked the US, UK and France who have despatched teams of experts to Nigeria.
France on Thursday announced it would station about 3,000 troops in Nigeria's neighbours, to help tackle Islamist militants in the Sahel region.
Shortly after his speech, President Jonathan told the BBC that with the extra assistance the country was now receiving, "we will be able to bring terror to an end in Nigeria".
He pointed to the use of sophisticated satellite images, saying that, so far, nobody knew exactly what had happened on the day of the abductions.
Also at the event, Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, said that he would invest $2.3bn (£1.35bn) in sugar and rice production in the north of the country to help create jobs in the impoverished area.
Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, now a UN education envoy, announced a "safe schools initiative" at the event in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the Nigerian business community would donate $10m (£5,8m) to provide security for around 500 schools as part of a pilot project, without giving further details.
In the face of recent criticism over its handling of the abductions, the government has defended its response to Boko Haram's insurgency, saying it was "fighting a war".
John Simpson says the Islamist militants' publicity coup is "likely to backfire"
"They can kill soldiers, they can kill villagers, but we cannot do that. And people must understand that, we have to fight this war within the rules of engagement that is accepted internationally."
He confirmed that suspected Islamist insurgents attacked the town of Gamboru Ngala, near Cameroon's border, on Monday, massacring civilians during a busy market day.
He said the official death toll was between 100 and 150; residents and the area's MP have said more than 300 residents died during the five-hour attack.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27328003
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