Nigerian state eases curfew for CMR Boko Haram meeting

Nigeria’s northeastern Gombe state relaxed a 24-hour curfew on Monday after a series of Boko Haram attacks and bombings over the weekend, as Cameroon holds a meeting to discuss combating the expanding insurgency.

The curfew in Gombe will now run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., said Abubakar Sule Bage, secretary to the state government. Cameroon’s capital Yaounde will host on Monday representatives from the Economic Community of Central African States to discuss battling the threat posed by Boko Haram.

“People are advised to give maximum cooperation to security agents, to restore peace to our dear state,” Bage said in an e-mailed statement. “Anyone that violates the order will be dealt with.”

Nigerian forces fought back Boko Haram Islamist militants from the city of Gombe on Saturday, while a female suicide bomber killed at least seven people and injured 32 at a bus station in the northeastern city of Damaturu on Sunday.

Boko Haram has escalated its violent six-year-old campaign to impose Islamic law in Africa’s biggest economy and largest oil-producing nation. The fighting has drawn in neighboring countries Chad, Niger and Cameroon, as the militants broadened their cross-border targets.

Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Benin and Nigeria have agreed to send about 9,000 soldiers to Nigeria. The conflict has displaced more than a million people in the region and is leading to food shortages.

Gombe was attacked earlier this month following a campaign event by President Goodluck Jonathan in the city. Days later, Nigeria’s electoral commission delayed votes scheduled for this month by six weeks after the nation’s security adviser said safety couldn’t be guaranteed amid the Boko Haram insurgency.

The Gombe assailants dropped printed statements advising residents not to vote in general elections rescheduled for next month, according to resident Yusuf Kabiru.