President Jonathan cancels planned visit to Chibok, home town of abducted school girls

The much awaited official visit by President Goodluck Jonathan to Chibok Local Government Area of Borno state slated for today (Friday) has be pastponed indefinitely.

Chibok is the home town of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants.

“The president has cancelled his visit to Chibok. It was on his schedule up until this morning,” a presidential official told AFP, without giving a reason.

Instead of visiting the remote town in northeastern Borno state, Jonathan is now due to head direct to a security summit in Paris on Saturday to discuss the Boko Haram threat to regional stability.

Nigeria’s government and Jonathan in particular have been heavily criticised for their slow response to the kidnapping on April 14, which saw Islamist militants snatch 276 girls from their school.

A total of 223 are still missing and the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed in a video released this week that some 130 had now converted to Islam.