Controversial proposal to end terror campaign creates another faultline for Christians in Africa's most-populous nation.
Nigerian Protestants and Catholics are largely divided over a government proposal to grant amnesty to members of Boko Haram, the violent Islamist sect whose attacks and suicide bombings have killed more than 4,000 people and destroyed hundreds of churches in northern Nigeria since 2009.
Labeling recent attacks as a "declaration of war," President Goodluck Jonathan today declared a state of emergency in three of Nigeria's northeastern states (full text). More military troops will be sent to Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, though the Associated Press notes "a similar effort [previously] failed to stop the bloodshed."
One of Nigeria's top Anglican leaders, Nicholas Okoh, is among those that oppose the emergency powers, urging the government to host a national dialogue instead. "The federal government had tried this emergency rule in other parts of the country but it didn't work," he told Nigerian reporters at a press conference. "There is need for Nigerians to talk about how they want to live together." Read more
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