Nigeria President: Schoolgirls Likely Still in Forest

Someone Would've Seen Them Otherwise

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says he is confident hundreds of kidnapped schoolgirls are still somewhere in the forests around the town where they were kidnapped weeks ago.

“There are stories that they have moved them outside of the country. But if they move that number of girls to Cameroon, people will see,” insisted Jonathan, who said experts were using “remote sensors” to spot them if they try to leave the forests.

Boko Haram has threatened to sell the girls into slavery, and with Chibok village so close to Cameroon, the speculation was that the girls had already been moved. A massacre earlier this week on the Cameroon border has added to that speculation.

Calls to try to negotiate for their release have so far stalled, with analysts warning it isn’t clear where the girls are or who in Boko Haram has them, meaning exactly who to negotiate with in the organization is unclear.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.