Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has called off a visit to the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, officials say.<\/b><\/p>\n
Sources had told the BBC he would stop in Chibok, in the north-east, on his way to a conference in France on the threat from Boko Haram militants.<\/p>\n
But the visit was called off for security reasons, the officials said.<\/p>\n
The president – under pressure over his government’s failure to rescue the girls – will fly direct to Paris.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse in Nigeria says the cancellation of this visit underlines just how fragile the security situation is in the north-east.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
Mr Jonathan is said to have ruled out negotiations over a possible release of prisoners.<\/p>\n
Nothing was seen of the girls for almost a month after they were taken from Chibok.<\/p>\n
But on Monday the group released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.<\/p>\n
UK Africa Minister Mark Simmonds said Mr Jonathan had “made it very clear that there will be no negotiation” at a meeting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
President Jonathan has been criticised for not visiting the town – more than a month after the girls were seized.<\/p>\n
The president will travel to Paris to take part in a summit convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
The leaders of Nigeria’s neighbours – Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – are scheduled to attend the summit on Saturday, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.<\/p>\n
A statement said delegates at the meeting will “discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in west and Central Africa”.<\/p>\n
‘Troubling atrocities’<\/b><\/p>\n
Meanwhile, US officials on Thursday criticised the speed of Nigeria’s response to the threat from Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
Alice Friend, director for African affairs at the US defence department, said its security forces had been “slow to adapt with new strategies and new tactics”.<\/p>\n
She also said the US was unable to offer aid to Nigeria’s military because of “troubling” atrocities perpetrated by some units during operations against Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
“We cannot ignore that Nigeria can be an extremely challenging partner to work with,” Ms Friend said.<\/p>\n
State of emergency<\/b><\/p>\n
US drones and surveillance aircraft have been deployed to assist in the search for the schoolgirls, while the UK has sent a military team to the capital, Abuja, to work alongside US, French and Israeli experts.<\/p>\n
The lower house of Nigeria’s parliament, the House of Representatives, approved an extension of the state of emergency in the north-east states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa on Thursday.<\/p>\n
President Jonathan had requested a six-month extension, calling the security situation in the region “daunting” and saying he was concerned by the mounting loss of life among civilians.<\/p>\n
The state of emergency, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, gives the military widespread powers such as detaining suspects, imposing curfews and setting up roadblocks.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, there have been reports of fresh attacks by suspected Boko Haram militants in Borno state.<\/p>\n
A witness told the BBC’s Hausa Service that there had been explosions in Gamboru Ngala, were some 300 people were killed last week in a massacre blamed on Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has called off a visit to the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, officials say. Sources had told the BBC he would stop in Chibok, in the north-east, on his way to a conference in France on the threat from Boko Haram militants. But the visit was called off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":18996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[436,14,125],"yoast_head":"\n