Nigeria, March 19 -- Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the southern state of Rivers, suspending the state governor, his deputy and all elected members of the state assembly.

The Nigerian leader, thus, joins the ranks of presidents of the West African country who declared such a state of emergency while in office. Others who have done so since the return to democratic rule in 1999 are Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr Tinubu, in a live broadcast, said he had received security reports in the last two days of "disturbing incidents of vandalisation of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them."

In his address, the president highlighted the unfolding security c...