尼日利亚努力寻找失踪的女孩

In Nigeria, radical Islamist sect Boko Haram has released a video of what it says are the girls it kidnapped from a school in the remote town of Chibok in northeastern Borno state. The abduction has sparked global outrage and a campaign to free the children. Sect leader Abubakar Shekau says he will only release the girls if the government frees detained Boko Haram suspects. But the government says it will not negotiate with the group.

If Boko Haram is to believed, these are the girls been sought by Nigeria and indeed the international community. But the number of girls in this video released by the sect are less than the actual number reported to be unaccounted for.

The Nigerian government says 276 of the girls were abducted in their dormitory in this school on the night of April 14th. Some managed to escape but about 223 are still missing. The number shown on the Boko Haram video is obviously less than that.

It’s been 27 days now since the schoolgirls were kidnapped. And there’s been a deluge international assistance to help Nigeria find the girls.

The latest country to offer its support is Israel. The country says it will be sending a team of Israeli counter-terrorism experts to help out in the search and rescue operation.

On the streets of Nigeria, the pressure keeps mounting on the government to end this whole episode. There’s been no let off in street protests demanding quick action.

"We are saddened. It’s sickening. It’s hurting. And one finds it difficult to sleep," said Joe Odumakin, president of Women Arise. "So Women Arise has been saying that the girls must be rescued. Rescue the girls now. And they should be rescued alive and we would have them."

"I don’t think we should just be talking about these girls. There are many incidents that have taken place," said Afro-Beat musician Femi Kuti. "I think one of the most important one is the over 50 boys who were killed in their sleep in the polytechnic in Yobe. Nobody is talking about this. That happened before this. If the government had taken action, maybe this would not have happened.

On the political side, the government is also receiving some pounding. The main opposition party accuses the government of not doing enough to protect its people. And while it supports the influx of foreign assistance, it says the government needs to wake up and act.

"We submit that ultimately, the security and safety of our citizens are the primary responsibility of the Nigerian government, led by President Jonathan, and the government must not abdicate this responsibility simply because some nations and organizations have offered to assist," said Bisi Akande, national chairman of All Progressives Congress.

Facing all the criticism, the government says it is doing all it can to find the girls and end the insurgency. President Jonathan even a put a timeline to it last week when he said he was optimistic of ending the Boko Haram insurgency in three months.