Nigerian president pledges to find abducted girls

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted thatNigerian security forces still do not know where more than 200 abducted girls arebeing held.They were taken three weeks ago from their school in Borno state by suspectedmilitants.President Jonathan was speaking for the first time since their disappearance amid growing criticism of the response, according to the (BBC).He has come under fire for not speaking earlier and his government has facedincreasing anger from the public.“We promise that anywhere the girls are, we will surely get them out,” he said in alive TV broadcast.The president said that despite searches by the army and the air force, the girls hadnot been found.He asked for the co-operation of parents and the local communities in the rescueefforts, saying the “government needs assistance.”“It is a trying time for this country… it is painful,” he added.Militants known as Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is a sin”,are believed to be behind the kidnapping of the girls from their school in Chibok.President Jonathan dismissed the suggestion that negotiations were taking place tosecure the release of the girls, saying it was impossible to talk to Boko Haram.“You don’t negotiate with somebody you don’t know. The issue of negotiation hasnot come up,” he said.He said his government has spoken to the United States and several other worldpowers, including France, Britain and China, for help with its security issues.“We are talking to countries we think can help us out. The United States is numberone. I have talked to President Obama at least twice,” he said.