Jonathan, security chiefs in crucial meeting amid nationwide strike

President Goodluck Jonathan met his security chiefs on Tuesday as he came under mounting pressure on the second day of a nationwide strike over fuel prices and amid violence blamed on Islamists.

The meeting included the chief of defence staff, police chief, defence minister, Vice President Namadi Sambo and convened in Jonathan’s office on Tuesday afternoon. No one commented on their way in.

On Tuesday, gangs set up burning roadblocks, police fired tear gas and businesses shut on the second day of a national strike that has paralysed the country and sparked deadly violence.

Security forces are also already under heavy pressure over spiralling violence blamed on Islamist group Boko Haram.

Recent deadly attacks on Christians have sparked fears of a wider religious conflict in a country whose population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.