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

President, Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday asked the National Assembly to approve another six months of emergency rule in three north-east states worst hit by Boko Haram violence.

Jonathan, in a letter to the lawmakers, said security forces had recorded considerable gains within the first six months and that he believed normalcy would fully return to crisis-ridden areas in the next six months.

The National Assembly had on May 14 granted approval for a six-month emergency rule in three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa - all in northeast in Nigeria.

The emergency rule came at the height of the terror activities of the Islamist insurgents Boko Haram , which has killed thousands of people and destroyed several houses and schools in the North in the past few years.

The fresh tenure, if approved by the National Assembly, will take effect from November 12

Jonathan had said that the decision became necessary because 'what the country was facing  is not just militancy or criminality but a rebellion which poses a very serious threat to national

unit'.