Amnesty Slams Jonathan  

Published on January 25, 2012 by pmnews   ·   15 Comments

Campaign group, Amnesty International has slammed the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government for treating the Boko Haram menace with kid gloves.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

In a statement released on Tuesday, according to the BBC, Amnesty said the Nigerian government should do more to tackle the group following a series of deadly attacks by the group in recent days.

"The Nigerian government has repeatedly failed to prevent, investigate, prosecute or punish these acts," it said.

The key suspect in a Christmas Day bombing on a Catholic church, Kabiru Sokoto – believed to be a member of the Islamist sect Boko Haram – escaped from police custody earlier this month.

At least 40 people died in that Christmas Day attack in Madalla on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria's capital.

Attacks by Boko Haram killed close to 1,000 people last year, according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

A top African Union (AU) official warned that the radical sect was escalating its activities.

"The possibility of this group expanding its activities into the neighbouring countries, deep into the Central African region should not be discarded," said Francisco Caetano Jose Madeira, in charge of counter terrorism co-operation for the AU.

Nigerian forces have arrested 158 suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram organisation in raids in the northern city of Kano. Boko Haram said it carried out a series of bombings in Kano on Friday in which at least 185 people died.

The group says it wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose Islamic law.

On Tuesday evening, unknown attackers threw explosives at a police station in Kano and opened fire on the building.

Eyewitnesses quoted by the AFP news agency said that a gunfight lasting 25 minutes then took place.

In the dawn operation, one resident said officers had encircled a house where a Boko Haram suspect was believed to be hiding. The shoot-out lasted several hours.

"They began shooting, and he fired back… This was followed by a barrage of gunfire by the security men," Mohammed Maikubi Bala told AFP news agency.A man and his wife were killed in the raid carried out by the Nigerian Joint Military Task Force, residents said.

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