Council have agreed to extend the state of emergency imposed on three
north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
They agreed on Monday to extend the emergency rule by another six months.
After a meeting of the council held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja
and presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke, told
reporters that the President would soon forward a request for the
extension to the National Assembly for approval.
The meeting considered the frequent bombings and attacks carried out
by the Boko Haram members in the three north eastern states.
The council members agreed that peace was far from being achieved and
reckoned that extending the emergency rule in the states may just be a
way to go.
"We just reviewed the issue of the state of emergency and the
government would be requesting the National Assembly to extend the
emergency rule," Adoke stated.
If approved by the National Assembly, it would be the third time that
the emergency rule would be extended. The renewal of the state of
emergency is done after every six months. The last tranche approved in
May expired on Sunday.
On May 14 2013, President Jonathan declared emergency rule in three
north-east states, giving sweeping powers to the security forces
against the insurgents.
The two chambers of the National Assembly granted the president's
request for the third extension on May 20.
The Constitution is silent on the number of times the president can
extend the six-month emergency rule in a state or any part of the
federation.
The insurgency in the north-east that has continued despite an
announcement of a ceasefire agreement by the Nigerian government is
believed to have called for the extension of the emergency rule.
--ChannelsTV
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