Femi Adesina, a presidential media aide, has admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Maiduguri, Borno, led to the Boko Haram attack that killed several innocent citizens in the ancient city.

The Islamic extremist last week carried out an attack on Maiduguri International Airport, according to Mr Adesina, to scare off Mr Buhari, who was scheduled for a state visit to Borno.

“It was a sort of scaremongering,” the media aide claimed. “They wanted to frighten the president away. But they have forgotten that this president is a retired general.”

Mr Adesina, who spoke on Channels TV on Sunday night, further noted that the terrorists attacked the airport to force Mr Buhari to cancel the visit.

“They’ve forgotten that he is a man who can stand on his own. They thought they could succeed in getting the president to cancel that visit,” Mr Adesina added.

Continuing, he explained, “That was why they did what they did. But you see way the president still went ahead with the visit and from all indications it was a very successful visit. It is sad that some people lost their lives in that attack. But it shows you the cowardly nature of those behind those attacks.”

Last Thursday, the Maiduguri airport came under Boko Haram attack, despite Mr Buhari regime’s claim that the terrorists could no longer launch large-scale attacks on cities.

The attack came weeks after Wall Street Journal reported that the Nigerian Air Force had coordinated a ransom to armed bandits operating near Katsina, the president’s home state in order to prevent shooting down his jet.

Officials denied the report, describing it as illogical and unfounded.