Jonathan seeks extension of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the National Assembly to approve another six months of emergency rule in three northeast states worst hit by Boko Haram violence. “I most respectfully request the distinguished Senators to consider and approve by resolution an extension of the proclamation of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by a further term of six months from the date of expiration of the current time,” he said in the letter. If approved, it would be the third time the National Assembly approved emergency rules in the states. President Jonathan first declared a State of Emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe on May 14, 2013. At the expiration of the six months tenure, he wrote to lawmakers for an extension which took effect on November 12, 2014. The latest request comes at a time over 200 girls of Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State were abducted by Boko Haram. Some of the teenage girls abducted by the Boko Haram sect were seen in a video released on Monday by the violent group. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau had in the video insisted that he would free the girls if members of his group in prisons are released. The Nigerian constitution provides that a state of emergency once declared in any part of the country can only last six months after which it must be renewed by the National Assembly. The lawmakers are expected to approve the extension considering the recent bombings in Nyanya, Abuja, and several killings recorded since the beginning of the year and also the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls.