(CNN) -- Police in Nigeria's capital Tuesday made a U-turn, saying a ban on protests in support of the more than 200 girls kidnapped in April does not exist.
The ban was issued one day earlier by Commissioner Joseph Mbu.
"The Police High Command wishes to inform the general public that the Force has not issued any order banning peaceful assemblies/protests anywhere in Nigeria," his office said in a statement.
"It notes however that against the backdrop of current security challenges in the country, coupled with a recent intelligence report of a likely infiltration and hijack of otherwise innocuous and peaceful protests by some criminal elements having links with insurgents, the Police only issued advisory notice, enjoining citizens to apply caution in the said rallies, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory and its environs," the statement read.
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140527023405-lklv-damon-nigeria-girls-located-00001215-story-body.jpg)Official: Nigerian kidnapped girls located (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140526155044-cnni-damon-nigeria-schools-sit-empty-fearing-boko-haram-00000601-story-body.jpg)Empty Nigerian Schools (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140523180638-pkg-damon-nigeria-vigilantes-00004325-story-body.jpg)Nigerian vigilantes do what army can't (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) Women in Abuja, Nigeria, hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 14, one month after nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The abductions have attracted national and international outrage. People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok. Catholic faithful take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls in a morning Mass in their honor in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, on Sunday, May 11. Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. Catholics nuns pray during a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. A woman attends a demonstration Tuesday, May 6, that called for the Nigerian government to rescue nearly 300 schoolgirls who were kidnapped last month in Chibok, Nigeria. The girls were taken by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Abuja Hosea Sambido, a leader in the Chibok community, speaks during a rally in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 6, pressing for the release of the abducted girls. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's top military spokesman, speaks to people at a demonstration on May 6. Women march Monday, May 5, in Chibok. People rally in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, May 1. Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1. Protesters take part in a "million woman march" on Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30. A woman cries out during a demonstration Tuesday, April 29, in Abuja with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped. A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22. Mothers weep during a meeting with the Borno state governor on April 22 in Chibok. Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima, center, visits the Chibok school on April 21. 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"Information reaching us is that too soon dangerous elements will join the groups under the guise of protest and detonate explosive(s) aimed at embarrassing the government. Accordingly protests on the Chibok Girls is hereby banned with immediate effect," his office said in its original statement.
More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in northern Nigeria in April by Boko Haram, an act that drew international condemnation.
The terror group abducted an estimated 276 girls on April 14 from a boarding school in Chibok. Dozens escaped, but more than 200 girls are still missing.
Nigerians and others have accused their government of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect the girls seized in the dead of night.
Authorities' apparent change of heart came after an outcry on the part of protesters. One group, #BringBackOurGirls, threatened legal action.
"Our Movement is legitimate and lawful and cannot be arrested by the police whose responsibility is to enforce, not betray the law," it said in a statement.
An adviser to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sought to explain the apparent contradiction.
"This present administration has never, ever tried to violate anybody's rights. We believe in human rights, we believe in citizens' rights," Doyin Okupe told CNN's Isha Sesay. "The police command has come to further clear the statement."
"The ban that the commissioner of police in Abuja proclaimed is like asking people, look, before you go on a protest, you have to come to the police, to come and clear with the police and let us work together to ensure that nobody's life is in danger," he said.
Boko Haram translates as "Western education is a sin" in the Hausa language. The militant group says its aim is to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, which is split between a majority Muslim north and a mostly Christian south.
The military actually knows where the girls are, "but as you will understand, you just cannot storm a place like that," Okupe said.
He added: "I believe that by God's grace, we are very near the end of this whole unfortunate saga."
READ: Nigerian villagers fight off attacks by Boko Haram (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/africa/nigeria-girls-abducted/')
READ: CNN exclusive: Nigerian girl who escaped Boko Haram says she still feels afraid (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/11/world/africa/nigeria-escaped-schoolgirl-speaks/')
READ: 'Fear is everywhere:' Boko Haram threat keeps abducted Nigerian girls' village awake (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/13/world/africa/nigeria-chibok-night-patrol-elbagir/')
CNN's Nana Karikari-apau, Salma Abdelaziz and journalist Aminu Abubakar contributed to this report.
Source: CNN.com