Jonathan to blame as unrest flares up

of Damaturu, previously hit by heavy violence blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram and which last week saw gun battles between security forces and extremists that killed at least 40 people.
It was not yet known who the attackers were. Police claimed the jail was not holding any Boko Haram members.
“Forty escaped,” said state police commissioner Patrick Egbuniwe, adding that one of the inmates was re-arrested and another was killed, though he did not know if police or the assailants shot him.
The raid saw attackers throw two explosives and open fire, forcing their way into the central prison in Damaturu, a prison officer said.
“A prison guard responded and there was a shootout, but the attackers overpowered the prison guards and broke into the prison,” said the officer, who was not there at the time but gathered information from colleagues.
“Four guards were killed and an unspecified number of the attackers were shot, but their comrades took them away.”
Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed hundreds, mainly in Nigeria’s north. The group has previously targeted prisons and freed Boko Haram members.
The latest attack comes in the wake of the sacking of the national security adviser and defence minister by President Goodluck Jonathan last Friday amid growing fears over spiralling violence in the north of Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer.
Security aide Owoye Azazi was replaced by Sambo Dasuki, a retired army colonel from the Muslim north as well as a cousin of the sultan of Sokoto, who is considered the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslims.
It is not clear who will succeed Defence Minister Bello Mohammed.
The move comes after a spate of attacks, including suicide attacks on churches, by Boko Haram Islamists.
About 150 people died last week.
President Jonathan has faced mounting criticism over the authorities’ response to Boko Haram
No official reason was given for the dismissals, but the Kaduna bombings sharply intensified criticism of President Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.
The president was also widely criticised for travelling to the UN’s Rio+20 climate change conference in Brazil on Tuesday, just as unrest was flaring again.
The military crackdown in northern Nigeria has not only failed to improve the security situation it has also led to countless civilian deaths, our reporter says.  — AFP/bbc.co.uk