ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s president is marking the country’s 54 years of independence by celebrating recent victories over Ebola and Islamic extremists.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday congratulated his government on the “swift, effective and comprehensive action in defense of citizens” in the Ebola crisis.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says Nigeria appears to have contained the outbreak believed to have killed eight people there, compared to more than 3,000 in West Africa.
But Jonathan’s government has been criticized for not protecting citizens against an Islamic uprising that caught world attention when the insurgents kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in April. None have been rescued.
Jonathan praised soldiers for “inflicting devastating blows at the heart of terror” though dozens face courts-martial for cowardice.
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