There is a saying that goes, the Chickens have come home to roost. Extremism seems to have been tolerated in the North as it was usually perpetuated under the guise of Islam. As the North became silent, its force grew into what is now plaque to them. If only they had seen it for what it was all along, a manner to oppress. Well the northern youth, mainly Muslims have band together and are helping the soldiers fish them out. The should be applauded for their bravery. I thought one former Head of State was trying to convince everyone that the state of emergency was an attack on the North. Well the youth seem to have seen through the smokescreen. Bravo for fighting for your freedom.

http://news.yahoo.com/vigilantes-target-extremists-northeast-nigeria-111618659.html

Vigilantes target extremists in northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Young men armed with machetes and sticks have entered the streets of Nigeria's biggest city in the northeast to target suspected Islamic extremists, even as soldiers continued an offensive against the radical fighters.

The vigilante group, known as "Civilian JTF," a play off the acronym used to describe the joint military and police taskforce in the region, started taking up arms after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency May 14 in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states — a territory of around 155,000 square kilometers (60,000 square miles) of the Sahel bordering Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

In a nationally televised speech, Jonathan admitted the nation had lost control of some villages and towns to extremist fighters already responsible for more than 1,600 killings since 2010 alone, according to an Associated Press count.

In the time since, the military claims it has killed and arrested suspected extremists as it now controls security for the region with expanded powers to arrest anyone and occupy any building. However, military officials who spoke to journalists on a recent trip through the northeast acknowledged many fighters likely fled with heavy weaponry including anti-aircraft guns and still remain a major threat to Africa's most populous nation.