Contrary to the claim by the Presidency that President Goodluck Jonathan was never scheduled to visit Chibok yesterday, it has been disclosed that Chibok people were informed of the visit and waited eagerly for it until they were informed that it had been put off.

Chibok is the traumatised community in Borno State, North-east Nigeria, from where over 200 teenagers were abducted April 14 from the Government Girls Secondary School by Boko Haram terrorists.

Reacting to reports on the cancelled visit, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati had later yesterday denied that any such trip was planned in the first place.

Reports from Borno, however, indicate the opposite. A prominent leader from Chibok told The Guardian that all of them had been waiting to receive President Jonathan based of information officially communicated to them but were later informed that the trip had been cancelled.

He said: “Yes, we received an information from the state government that Mr. President is no longer visiting Chibok, until further notice. Already, we have informed our people, including the parents of the abducted schoolgirls who had earlier gathered at the town hall waiting for Mr. President. With this information, I urged them to disperse and go back to their respective houses and communities. As I am talking to you now, I am also on my way back to Maiduguri.”

The paper also reported that as early as 6am yesterday, the Airport Road leading to the Nigerian Air Force Base, and the Government House, Maiduguri, were heavily manned by security operatives, including soldiers and policemen – an indication that the President was being awaited. “However, they withdrew by 9.35am when the cancellation of the visit was rumoured in metropolis,” the report said.

News Express reports that the Presidency did not deny reports of Jonathan’s planned visit to Chibok until critics started savaging the President for cancelling the trip, reportedly based on unfavourable security reports.

•Photo shows President Jonathan.

Update news