President Goodluck Jonathan has once again assured Nigerians of the government’s commitment to ending terrorist activities in the nation’s north-east, promising that the “terrorists will not get away with their atrocities”.

In a New Year broadcast on Thursday, the President said the terrorists would be routed and that the government would give all necessary assistance to security agencies in their counter-terrorism operations.

He said: “As President, I feel the pain of all affected communities and families. I hear their cries and share their sorrow and pain.

“We will not forget; we will not look the other way. We have done a lot of painstaking planning and work to resolve the current security challenge. We will bring justice to the savage terrorists known as Boko Haram.

“They will be defeated.

“We are re-equipping and re-positioning our armed forces to enhance their capacity to win the ongoing war against terror and insurgency,” the president and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces said.

He expressed regrets over the pains and agony that the terrorist group had unleashed on Nigerians and further condemned the acts of terror in the north.

“They have made widows of our mothers and sisters and orphans of our children. They have shut down businesses, desecrated places of worship and brought untold hardship to both men and women. They have violated the culture and peaceful way of life in our country, which took generations to build.”

One Man, One Vote

He further pledged his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the 2015 general elections were free, fair and credible, emphasising that the successful conclusion of the elections would further strengthen the nation’s democratic institutions and place Nigeria even more firmly in the comity of truly democratic nations.

“Given the challenges that have characterised some previous electoral contests in our country, the eyes of the world will certainly be on the conduct and …read more