Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three states in northern Nigeria because of the way Boko Haram keeps killing people.

It is not the first time that the president has declared a state of emergency, but this is a clear admission that far from being weakened by the army offensive, the threat of the Islamist militants is growing, says the BBC’s Will Ross in Lagos.

And it is the first time that Mr Jonathan has admitted that parts of the country are no longer under central government control, says our correspondent.

The Beeb says 2000 people have been killed in “the violence” since 2010. It doesn’t say how many were people blown up or shot down by Boko Haram, but it was probably most or almost all, since that’s what Boko Haram does.