WHEN emergency rule arrived Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States on Tuesday, it was long overdue. Debates about its content, allowing elected political office holders to remain in office and the non-disclosure of its duration show how different the current measure is from other emergency rules.

President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation for the courage, and the wisdom in navigating the political obstacles that would have made emergency impossible. In getting this far in managing the security situation in some parts of Nigeria, he has walked a minefield with more success than was imagined.

However, there were still surprises. Why was Nasarawa State, where many security agents have been killed and some are missing, not included? The same question has been asked about Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna States? Would putting more States under emergency rule have confirmed that the country was in dire straits?

The justifications for emergency rule were unnecessary. Everybody has heard about the mayhem that the terrorists unleash on their choice locations. Impunity emboldened them. They attacked who they pleased, where they wanted and when they liked. The extent of the insecurity in certain parts of Nigeria, and its impact on the national economy were fairly known.

Democratic structures in the three States would continue running, a clear departure from emergency rule in 1962 (Western Region), 2004 (Plateau State) and 2006 (Ekiti State). Sole administrators were appointed in those cases, governors and legislators lost their jobs for the duration of emergency. Retaining their jobs comes with the responsibility of cooperating with troops who would be seen in more numbers.

Security agencies have sweeping powers to act as they would in an emergency. They have  “authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons in illegal possession of weapons,” the President said.

Concerns about how the operations would affect civilian populations and abuses from the security agencies are real. The security agencies should be proactive in this aspect of their operations. The operations would benefit from good relations with the local population. The protection of civilians – as distinct from terrorists – should be a major calculation in the operations.

Nigerians support the new security measures. No government would have ignored the killings, the arsons, and the concerted efforts to make the country ungovernable. “Whoever they may be, wherever they may go, we will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror,” Jonathan said.

Nigeria would hopefully know peace again, soon.