Worldwide ceremonies are being hold to mark one year since more than 200 girls were abducted by militant Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria.
A procession is being held in the capital, Abuja, with 219 girls taking part to represent each missing girl.
The abduction of the girls in Chibok in north-eastern Nigeria sparked global outrage, with nations such as the US and China promising to help find them.
There have been sightings of the girls reported, but none has been found.
Boko Haram say the girls have converted to Islam and been married off.
Photo RT
High-profile figures such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and First Lady Michelle Obama were among those who drew attention to their plight on Twitter last year under the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag.
Since then, the activists who began that campaign have spoken of relatives’ anguish at still not knowing what happened to the girls, and have criticized the Nigerian government of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan for not doing enough to find them.
Nigeria’s incoming president, Muhammadu Buhari, said his government would “do everything in its power to bring them home” but said he “cannot promise that we can find them”.
The six-year Boko Haram insurgency in the north has left thousands dead.
Amnesty International say the militants have abducted 2,000 girls and women since the start of last year, using them as cooks, slaves and fighters.
Malala Yousafzai has met Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan to press for more action to free at least 200 girls held by Boko Haram Islamist militants.
Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau has reiterated in a new video message that he is prepared to negotiate a prisoner swap for them.
He also expressed support for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared caliph of a new Middle Eastern state.
Boko Haram sparked a global outcry when it abducted the girls three months ago.
Goodluck Jonathan’s government has faced strong criticism for not doing enough to curb violence by Boko Haram, especially in the wake of the kidnappings.
Malala Yousafzai has met Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan to press for more action to free at least 200 girls held by Boko Haram Islamist militants
Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, met Goodluck Jonathan in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and urged him to meet the families of the kidnapped girls.
She also met relatives of the girls on Sunday, and expressed solidarity with them.
President Goodluck Jonathan has not spoken to the relatives, exactly three months after the abductions.
The military has also failed to debrief some of the girls who managed to escape from captivity, he says.
In a statement after his meeting with Malala Yousafzai, President Goodluck Jonathan said he would meet with the parents before they left Abuja “to personally comfort them and reassure them” that the government was doing “all within its powers to rescue their daughters”.
The notion that the government has not been doing enough to find and rescue the girls was “very wrong and misplaced”, the statement said.
“Terror is relatively new here and dealing with it has its challenges. The great challenge in rescuing the Chibok girls is the need to ensure that they are rescued alive,” Goodluck Jonathan said.
After meeting the parents, Malala Yousafzai said she understood their suffering.
“It’s quite difficult for a parent to know that their daughter is in great danger. My birthday wish this year is… bring back our girls now, and alive.”
Two years ago, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by Pakistani Taliban militants for campaigning for girls’ education.
Nigerian authorities have banned public protests in the capital Abuja for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls seized by Islamist militants in April.
Abuja police commissioner Joseph Mbu said the rallies were “now posing a serious security threat”.
Nigeria has seen almost daily rallies calling for the government to take firmer action to rescue the girls.
Boko Haram militants snatched the girls from the remote Chibok village near the Cameroon border on April 14.
Nigerian authorities have banned public protests in the capital Abuja for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls seized by Islamist militants (photo AP)
In a statement, Joseph Mbu said that public protests had “degenerated” and were now a security threat.
He was also quoted by the state-run Agency of Nigeria as saying that “dangerous elements” could join the demonstrations.
Nigeria’s government has been facing growing pressure both at home and abroad to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.
A deal for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria was close to being secured when the Nigerian government called it off late last month.
Some of the girls were set to be freed in exchange for imprisoned Islamist militants.
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.
The girls, who were mainly Christian, were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state and are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon.
Nigeria’s army has announced it knows where the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram are but it will not attempt a rescue.
Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff said it was “good news for the parents,” although he admitted the military would not risk “going there with force.”
More than 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram gunmen from their school in northern Nigeria in April.
More than 200 girls were abducted by Boko Haram gunmen from their school in northern Nigeria in April (photo Reuters)
Earlier, an agreement was almost reached to release 50 of the girls in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram prisoners.
But the Nigerian government pulled out of the deal after President Goodluck Jonathan attended a conference on the crisis in Paris. The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear.
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.
Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh said on Monday that “the good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are” but said he couldn’t reveal the location.
“But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can’t kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back,” Alex Badeh added.
Nigeria has called off a deal with Islamist group Boko Haram for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls.
Some of the girls were set to be freed in exchange for imprisoned Islamist militants.
Boko Haram group snatched more than 200 girls from a school on April 14.
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls’ release.
Nigeria has called off a deal with Islamist group Boko Haram for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls
Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown.
Officials have held talks with the group to secure the release of the schoolgirls.
An intermediary met Boko Haram leaders earlier this month and visited the location in north-east Nigeria where the girls were being held.
A deal was almost reached to set some of the girls free in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram members being held in detention.
But the government cancelled the planned agreement shortly before the swap was due to take place.
The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear.
It came just after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attended a meeting in Paris hosted by President Francois Hollande of France where leaders said they had agreed a “global and regional action plan” against Boko Haram.
The girls, who were mainly Christian, were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state and are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon.
Nigeria previously insisted it would not agree to free Boko Haram members in return for their release.
The UK, the US, China and France are among the countries to have sent teams of experts and equipment to help to locate them.
Nigerian teachers are holding a day of protests in support of more than 200 schoolgirls seized by the Islamist group Boko Haram last month.
Teaching unions said they would also march in memory of the 173 teachers killed by militants.
It follows two days of bloody attacks in the country, in which nearly 150 people have been killed.
Nigerian teachers are holding a day of protests in support of more than 200 schoolgirls seized by the Islamist group Boko Haram last month
Nigeria’s government is under pressure to do more to tackle Boko Haram and bring about the girls’ release.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the US had deployed 80 military personnel to neighboring Chad to help in the search.
The girls were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state, on April 14. They are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon.
The Nigerian Union of Teachers said all schools across the country would be closed so teachers can participate in a series of “Bring Back Our Girls” rallies.
President of the union Michael Olukoya said they would not stop campaigning “until our girls are brought back safe and alive and the perpetrators of the heinous crime are brought to book”, Nigeria’s Premium Times quotes him as saying.
Another union leader, Segun Raheem, said that teachers too were also a target – and the authorities were not doing enough to protect them.
Nigeria is reeling from several days of violence.
Boko Haram is accused of killing 27 people in attacks on two villages, Shawa and Alagarno, not far from where the schoolgirls were taken.
Witnesses said they torched homes and shot at residents before leaving with stolen food and vehicles.
A double bombing in the central city of Jos on Tuesday, in which 118 people died, is also thought to have been the work of Boko Haram.
France is hosting a security summit on the threat from Boko Haram Islamists, after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria last month.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and other West African leaders will attend the talks in Paris.
France is hosting a security summit on the threat from Boko Haram Islamists, after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria last month (photo Getty Images)
On Friday, Goodluck Jonathan was due to visit the north-eastern town of Chibok, where the girls were seized, but called it off for security reasons.
He has ruled out negotiations over their possible release, reports say.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.
This came three days after Boko Haram released a video showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.
French President Francois Hollande is expected to open the summit later on Saturday.
The leaders of Nigeria’s neighbors – Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – are scheduled to attend the talks, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will “discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in West and Central Africa”.
Francois Hollande on Friday discussed the issue in a phone call with President Barack Obama.
The safe return of the 223 girls was now one of America’s main priorities, with US specialist teams and drones being involved in the rescue operation, the White House said.
France is also providing Nigeria with expert assistance to help release the girls.
US officials have criticized the speed of Nigeria’s response to the threat from Boko Haram.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has canceled his visit to Chibok, the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted, officials say.
Goodluck Jonathan would stop in Chibok, in the north-east, on his way to a conference in Paris on the threat from Boko Haram militants.
But the visit was called off for security reasons, the officials said.
President Goodluck Jonathan has canceled his visit to Chibok
Goodluck Jonathan – under pressure over his government’s failure to rescue the girls – will fly direct to Paris.
On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.
Goodluck Jonathan is said to have ruled out negotiations over a possible release of prisoners.
Nothing was seen of the girls for almost a month after they were taken from Chibok.
But on Monday the group released a video showing more than 100 of them and offering an exchange for prisoners.
President Goodluck Jonathan has been criticized for not visiting Chibok – more than a month after the girls were seized.
The president will travel to Paris to take part in a summit convened by French President Francois Hollande to discuss Boko Haram.
The leaders of Nigeria’s neighbors – Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – are scheduled to attend the summit on Saturday, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.
A statement said delegates at the meeting will “discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in west and Central Africa”.
The US is flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria to try to find more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.
The US is also sharing commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerian government, officials said.
It comes after militants released a video of about 130 girls, saying they could be swapped for jailed fighters.
Boko Haram seized them from a school in the northern Borno state on 14 April.
“We have shared commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerians and are flying manned ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) assets over Nigeria with the government’s permission,” said a senior administration official, who declined to be named.
A team of about 30 US experts – members of the FBI and defense and state departments – is in Nigeria to help with the search.
The types of aircraft deployed have not been revealed, but the US has sophisticated planes that can listen into a wide range of mobile phone and telecommunications traffic.
The US is flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria to try to find more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram
Other officials, quoted by Reuters, said the US was also considering deploying unmanned “drone” aircraft to aid the search.
US state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said earlier on Monday that intelligence experts were closely examining the Boko Haram video for clues that might help locate the girls.
Pogu Bitrus, a leader in the town of Chibok, from where the girls were seized, said vegetation in the video resembled that in the nearby Sambisa forest reserve.
The video showed some 136 girls wearing bulky hijabs. Militants said they had “converted” to Islam.
The girls’ families have said that most of those seized are Christians.
Two girls on the video singled out for questioning said they were Christians but had converted to Islam.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said the girls could be exchanged for “our brethren in your prison”.
“I swear to almighty Allah, you will not see them again until you release our brothers that you have captured,” he said.
In a video last week, Abubakar Shekau threatened to sell the girls into slavery.
A Nigerian government statement said “all options” for the girls’ release were on the table.
However, Interior Minister Abba Moro appeared to dismiss the offer, saying no exchange would take place. The reason for the discrepancy was unclear.
It appears some sort of negotiations will take place because of the large presence of international advisers in the country, including hostage negotiators.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden”, had previously said the girls should not have been at school and should get married instead.
The militants have been engaged in a violent campaign against the Nigerian government since 2009.
President Goodluck Jonathan – whose government has been heavily criticized for its response to the abduction – said on Sunday that help from abroad had made him optimistic of finding the girls.
He says he believes the girls are still in Nigeria.
The kidnapping has triggered a huge international campaign with world leaders and celebrities calling for the children to be released.
The UK, the US, France and China already have teams helping on the ground in Nigeria. An Israeli counter-terrorism team is also on its way.
Islamist militants Boko Haram have released a video claiming to show around 100 girls kidnapped from a school in Nigeria last month.
Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said they would be held until all imprisoned militants had been freed.
Abubakar Shekau said the girls had converted to Islam. The video, released on Monday, claims to show them praying.
Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from northern Nigeria on April 14 and threatened to sell them.
Islamist militants Boko Haram have released a video claiming to show around 100 girls kidnapped from a school in Nigeria last month
Three of the girls are shown speaking in the 17-minute video, obtained by French news agency AFP, wearing the full-length hijab.
Two girls say they were Christian and have converted to Islam, while the other says she is Muslim.
“These girls, these girls you occupy yourselves with… we have indeed liberated them. These girls have become Muslims,” Abubakar Shekau says in the video.
It is thought the majority of the abducted girls are Christians, although there are a number of Muslims among them.
Correspondents said the girls appeared calm and one said that they had not been harmed.
There is no indication of when or where the video was taken.
It is estimated to show about 130 girls – just under half of the 276 pupils abducted from their school in the northern state of Borno.
Boko Haram had previously admitted to kidnapping the girls.
The group, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” said they should not have been at school and should get married instead.
Boko Haram has been engaged in a violent campaign against the Nigerian government since 2009.
According to Amnesty International, Nigeria’s military had advance warning of an attack on Chibok, where some 270 girls were kidnapped but failed to act.
The human rights group says it was told by credible sources that the military had more than four hours’ warning of the raid by Boko Haram militants.
Fifty-three of the girls escaped soon after being seized in Chibok on April 14 but more than 200 remain captive.
Nigeria’s authorities say they “doubt the veracity” of the Amnesty report.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said on Friday that he believed the schoolgirls were still in his country and had not been moved to neighboring Cameroon.
Fifty-three of the girls escaped soon after being seized in Chibok on April 14 but more than 200 remain captive
“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, so I believe they are still in Nigeria,” Goodluck Jonathan told journalists at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Abuja.
Amnesty International says it was told by several people that the military in Maiduguri, capital of the north-eastern Borno state, was informed of the impending attack on Chibok town soon after 19:00 local time.
It says that a local official was contacted by herdsmen who said that armed men had asked them where the Government Girls’ Secondary School was located in the town.
Despite the warning, reinforcements were not sent to help protect the town in the remote area, which was attacked at around midnight, Amnesty International says.
One reason, the rights group says, was a “reported fear of engaging with the often better-equipped armed groups”.
Amnesty’s Africa Director Netsanet Belay said it amounted to a “gross dereliction of Nigeria’s duty to protect civilians”.
Boko Haram has admitted capturing the girls, saying they should not have been in school and should get married instead.
In a video released earlier this week, leader Abubakar Shekau threatened to “sell” the students.
Teams of experts from the US and UK – including military advisers, negotiators and counselors – have arrived in Nigeria to help locate and rescue the abductees.
Seven American military officials arrived on Friday, with more expected to come on Saturday, including three FBI personnel.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language, began its insurgency in Borno state in 2009.
Nigeria is offering a 50 million naira ($300,000) reward to anyone who can help locate and rescue more than 200 abducted schoolgirls.
The schoolgirls were kidnapped more than three weeks ago by Islamist Boko Haram militants from their boarding school in the north-eastern state of Borno.
Eleven other girls were taken on Sunday night after two villages were attacked.
Boko Haram’s leader admitted earlier this week that his fighters had abducted the girls in the middle of the night from their school in the town of Chibok on April 14.
Nigeria is offering a $300,000 reward to anyone who can help locate and rescue more than 200 abducted schoolgirls
Abubakar Shekau threatened to “sell” the students, saying they should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married.
The group, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” in the local Hausa language, began its insurgency in 2009.
More than 1,500 have been killed in the violence and subsequent security crackdown this year alone.
A statement from the police said the 50 million naira reward would be given to anyone who “volunteers credible information that will lead to the location and rescue of the female students”.
Six phone numbers are provided, calling on the general public to be “part of the solution to the present security challenge”.
“The police high command also reassures all citizens that any information given would be treated anonymously and with utmost confidentiality,” the statement said.
The abductions have prompted widespread criticism of the Nigerian government and demonstrations countrywide.
The girls are mostly aged between 16 and 18 and were taking their final year exams.
The governments of Chad and Cameroon have denied suggestions that the abducted girls may have already been smuggled over Nigeria’s porous borders into their territory.
A team of US experts has been sent to Nigeria to help in the hunt.
Security has been tightened in Abuja as several African leaders and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang are attending the World Economic Forum for Africa in the city, following two recent attacks there blamed on the insurgents.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria has threatened to “sell” the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago.
Militant leader Abubakar Shekau sent a video obtained by the AFP news agency, in which he said for the first time that his group had taken the girls.
About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government.
The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009.
The girls were taken from their school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno, on the night of April 14.
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria has threatened to “sell” the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago
Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden” has staged numerous previous attacks on educational institutions in northern Nigeria.
In the video, Abubakar Shekau said the girls should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married.
“God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions,” he said.
However, the Boko Haram leader did not state the number of girls abducted, nor where they were taken or are now.
Assurances from President Goodluck Jonathan have done little to convince Nigerians of the government’s commitment to freeing the girls, says our correspondent.
Meanwhile, a woman who helped organize protests over the abduction was detained and later released.
Naomi Mutah was taken to a police station after a meeting called by First Lady Patience Jonathan.
Patience Jonathan reportedly felt slighted that the girls’ mothers had sent Naomi Mutah to the meeting instead of going themselves.
Analysts say Patience Jonathan is a politically powerful figure in Nigeria.
Naomi Mutah, a representative of the Chibok community, organized a protest last week outside parliament in Abuja.
The protesters, and many Nigerians, feel the government has not done enough to find the abductees.
The girls were in their final year of school, most of them aged 16 to 18.
Pogo Bitrus, another Chibok leader, said he had been to the Asokoro police station where Naomi Mutah is reported to have been taken but could find no written record of her being there.
He described the detention as “unfortunate” and “insensitive”, adding that he hoped Patience Jonathan would soon “realize her mistake”.
Pogo Bitrus noted that Patience Jonathan has no constitutional power to order arrests.
The AP news agency quotes another community leader, Saratu Angus Ndirpaya, as saying that Patience Jonathan accused the activists of fabricating the abductions to give the government a bad name.
She also said the First Lady accused them of supporting Boko Haram.
In a TV broadcast on Sunday, his first comment on the abductions, President Goodluck Jonathan said he did not know where the girls were but everything was being done to find them.
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