MAIDUGURI: Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday made a surprise visit to the troubled northeast, which is in the grip of escalating Boko Haram violence that is threatening next month's election.

An AFP reporter in the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, said the president arrived in the city shortly before 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) and was met at the airport by the state governor Kashim Shettima.

He was accompanied by the chief of defence staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, military top brass and the national security advisor as well as about 200 soldiers.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015