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Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Thursday approved President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for a six-month extension of a state of emergency in three northeastern states, where the military is battling Islamist militant group Boko Haram. But Northern Senators and the governors of Yobe and Adamawa states oppose the move, saying it has not been effective, ever since it was declared in May last year. Meanwhile, protests continue in the capital Abuja over the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the Islamist militants, more than a month ago.