Abuja - Senators said Tuesday 16 September they
will meet with President Goodluck Jonathan to
press him to declare "total war" on Boko Haram,
in a sign of frustration and concern over
worsening security.
The upper house lawmakers will urge Jonathan
"to declare total war on Boko Haram in the
northeastern part of Nigeria and wherever else in
Nigeria they may be".
The jihadist militants have "declared war on
Nigeria and we must fight it like a war, not like
(an) issue of internal security anymore," Senate
leader David Mark told members in Abuja, as they
resumed work after a two-month recess.
"This has gone well beyond internal security... We
are in a real state of war," the former soldier
added.
Jonathan in May vowed a "total war against
terrorism" after Boko Haram kidnapped more than
200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Borno
state while senior figures in the presidency have
also used similar terms for tackling the rebellion.
But the renewed call for greater action from a
close Jonathan ally reflects heightened concern
over the military's apparent inability to check the
militants' advance.
Boko Haram have made rapid territorial gains in
the far northeast states of Yobe, Borno and
Adamawa in recent weeks that Nigeria's military
has acknowledged posed a threat to the country's
sovereignty.
Troops have been reportedly out-gunned and out-
fought in the remote region, with the insurgents'
leader Abubakar Shekau even declaring one
captured town part of an Islamic caliphate and
saying that they had "nothing to do with Nigeria".
Mark said he was concerned that security had
deteriorated in the three states, despite a state of
emergency which has been extended by six
months twice since May last year.
Before the recess, Jonathan asked lawmakers to
approve a $1 billion foreign loan to upgrade the
capacity of the military, which was seen as a tacit
acknowledgement that troops were being
outmatched.
The Senate finance committee was ordered to
report back in a week's time on the proposal, the
chamber was told.
will meet with President Goodluck Jonathan to
press him to declare "total war" on Boko Haram,
in a sign of frustration and concern over
worsening security.
The upper house lawmakers will urge Jonathan
"to declare total war on Boko Haram in the
northeastern part of Nigeria and wherever else in
Nigeria they may be".
The jihadist militants have "declared war on
Nigeria and we must fight it like a war, not like
(an) issue of internal security anymore," Senate
leader David Mark told members in Abuja, as they
resumed work after a two-month recess.
"This has gone well beyond internal security... We
are in a real state of war," the former soldier
added.
Jonathan in May vowed a "total war against
terrorism" after Boko Haram kidnapped more than
200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in Borno
state while senior figures in the presidency have
also used similar terms for tackling the rebellion.
But the renewed call for greater action from a
close Jonathan ally reflects heightened concern
over the military's apparent inability to check the
militants' advance.
Boko Haram have made rapid territorial gains in
the far northeast states of Yobe, Borno and
Adamawa in recent weeks that Nigeria's military
has acknowledged posed a threat to the country's
sovereignty.
Troops have been reportedly out-gunned and out-
fought in the remote region, with the insurgents'
leader Abubakar Shekau even declaring one
captured town part of an Islamic caliphate and
saying that they had "nothing to do with Nigeria".
Mark said he was concerned that security had
deteriorated in the three states, despite a state of
emergency which has been extended by six
months twice since May last year.
Before the recess, Jonathan asked lawmakers to
approve a $1 billion foreign loan to upgrade the
capacity of the military, which was seen as a tacit
acknowledgement that troops were being
outmatched.
The Senate finance committee was ordered to
report back in a week's time on the proposal, the
chamber was told.
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