Ikimi: Declare Full Scale Emergency Rule In Adamawa, Borno, Yobe Now

• Wants military administrators appointed in place of governors The federal government has been advised to stop foot-dragging on taking the appropriate step that would decisively address the menace of Boko Haram insurgency which has heightened insecurity in Nigeria. The government should simply declare a full-scale state of emergency in the three states of Adamawa, Bornu and Yobe by suspending all existing civilian or democratic political structures in the affected states, the Forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence (fjhd) has said. The group said the respective state governors should be temporarily relived of their functions and military administrators should be appointed to oversee affairs in the states as a measure against the insurgency. A legal practitioner and National Coordinator of the Forum Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, said in a statement e-mailed to THISDAY in Warri, Delta State, yesterday that only by applying the full weight of the law could the government hope to effectively tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. According to the fjhd boss, the government could not be said to be in a real dilemma over the action that should be taken to cripple or end the activities of the Boko Haram Islamist group as it had not exhausted constitutional powers available to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He asserted that the failure of the government to "go the whole hog in the declaration of the state of emergency" in the three states was responsible for the persistence of the activities of the insurgents, with the latest being the recent bombing of Nyanya bus terminal in Abuja that led to the death of about 80 people and injuring several others. "We call on the federal government for the umpteenth time to declare a full-scale state of emergency in the affected states of Adamawa, Bornu and Yobe by dismantling all existing democratic structures therein and by appointing military administrators to oversee the administration of the said states in a bid to firmly deal with the rising terrorism and avert a civil war in the north east region," the statement said. It also called on the government to seek necessary assistance from the international community to effectively tackle the Boko Haram challenge. Describing the Boko Haram insurgency as "serious national challenge," the group said: "In April, 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan declared the present partial state of emergency in the affected states, we criticised same as being not reaching enough decision at tackling the spate of terrorism and the crises in the north but unfortunately, we came under a hail of criticism from a cross section of Nigerians then. "It is abundantly clear that the above partial state of emergency has failed and there is the urgent need for the Federal Government to change tactics by declaring a full scale state of emergency in the affected states and seeking military and technical support from members of the international community at dealing with the current realities on ground in a bid to restoring normalcy and peace in the region." This Day.