Regardless of statements made by the Presidency denying a planned visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Chibok, his advance team were spotted yesterday in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
The
advance team of the president which comprises of protocol and security
officials usually go ahead of the president to places which he is
scheduled to visit.
According to reports, the team arrived the
capital of Borno state on Thursday for reconnaissance and various other
preparations, in the same manner they would in preparation for a visit
by the president.
Information gathered reveal that the security
team were briefed by the appropriate officials on arrival to Maiduguri
and apparently considered the route to Chibok both by land and air
unsafe for the Presidential visit.
The president's planned trip
according to sources was supposed to be a secret visit that would take
the nation by surprise as Nigerians would have been caught unawares.
According
to sources, the president not only planned the trip, but also put in
place every relevant notification in writing regarding his visit to
Chibok, and now some officials to the Presidency are being blamed for
leaking
the news to the public.
“The President did not only plan
to visit; all the relevant apparatchik got official notifications in
writing and through signals on the Chibok trip.
“All military formations and security agencies were also placed on the alert for a successful visit.
“Some
RECCE guards and protocol officers had been deployed in Maiduguri ahead
of the President’s arrival. Some of these guards and officials got to
the Borno State capital at about noon on Thursday.
“In fact, the
first batch of the team due for Chibok had been scheduled to depart by 6
am on Friday until they got a counter-directive early.” The source
said.
The source also disclosed that the cancellation of the
President's trip to Chibok was as a result of security challenges facing
Borno state at the moment.
“The reality is that security challenges facing Borno State along the Chibok axis led to the cancellation of the secret mission.
“It
was meant to be a secret mission like US President’s shuttle to either
Iraq or Afghanistan. But some excited or overzealous officials in the
Presidency bungled it with a leakage.”
“The military and security
agencies did not want to underrate the intelligence network of Boko
Haram which may lead to strike action by the insurgents during the
visit.
“The mutiny in Maimalari Barracks made security agencies to
be more circumspect about the trip too. In spite of the fact that calm
has been returned to the cantonment, it is unwise to expose a
Commander-In-Chief to any danger.”
A second source also disclosed
that the absence of the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim
Shettima, who was officially away to the United Kingdom, might have also
led to the cancellation of the President's planned trip, describing it
as "untidy protocol wise" for President Jonathan to visit Borno state in
the absence of the state governor.
The
cancelled trip of the President has also led to outrage in the state
amongst parents of the kidnapped chibok girls and other officials
who had waited to receive President Jonathan on Friday in Chibok, but
were later left disappointed when told he won't be showing up.
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