Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked his special adviser on counter-terrorism, two weeks after a car bomber killed 23 people at the UN's Nigeria headquarters, a presidential spokesman said on Thursday. Spokesman Reuben Abati would not give details on why former counter-terrorism chief Zakari Ibrahim was removed.
"Ambassador Ibrahim is no more the counter-terrorism adviser and co-ordinator on counter-terrorism matters, he has been replaced by Major General Sarkin Bello, who is now saddled with the responsibility to counter the rising wave of bombings in the country," he said.
Nigerian authorities are investigating how the bomber of the UN headquarters on August 26 was able to breach state security. Last week they arrested two suspected members of radical Islamist sect Boko Haram over the attack and said they suspected a third member with an al Qaeda connection led the plot.
If it was them - and the group has claimed the bombing - it marks the first time they have struck an international target. Nigerian authorities said on Tuesday they had found a bomb-making factory near Abuja and had arrested six suspected members or people connected with Boko Haram, including a foreign fighter from Niger.
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