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Boko Haram members 'everywhere' says Nigeria's Jonathan
Jan 9, 2012, 13:02 GMT
Monrovia/Abuja - Members and sympathisers of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram can be found across all sectors of society, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said late Sunday.
The president spoke out during a service held at a Christian centre in the capital, Abuja, to mark Nigeria's Armed Forces Remembrance Day.
He said members and sympathisers of the group pushing for Sharia law could be found 'everywhere: in the executive arm of government ... in the parliamentary/legislative arm of government ... (and) even in the judiciary.'
'Some are also in the armed forces, the police and other security agencies,' Jonathan added.
'Some continue to dip their hands and eat with you and you won't even know the person who will point a gun at you or plant a bomb behind your house.'
The president added that the country 'shall get over it.'
He said there were plans to boost Nigeria's 300,000-strong police force, but that Nigeria's rapidly-swelling population - which stands at 160 million - made it difficult to ensure nationwide security.
'Countries that have the kind of challenge that we have today, who have about 20 per cent of our population, have five times more than that number,' Jonathan said in reference to the country's 300,000 officers.
'That number would have been okay some years back but definitely not the number that can cope with the security challenges we have now,' he added.
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