US Surveillance Plane Reportedly Sights Abducted Chibok Girls 

The girls were spotted in July, raising the hope that their rescue is still possible, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, quoting U.S. officials.

The girls were abducted from their dormitory in Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State in the North-eastern part of Nigeria.

Amid international outrage, the United States, Britain, France and Canada offered intelligence support and sent specialists to Nigeria.

The effort has yielded little, while global attention has gradually receded.

Over 50 of the girls have however escaped leaving more than 200 still in captivity. United States officials said the aerial surveillance also showed that most of the girls are still held captive by the group and have not been married off or used as sex slaves as feared and threatened by the group.

The surveillance flights over Northeastern Nigeria spotted a group of 60 to 70 girls held in an open field early July, two U.S. defense officials were quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. A set of roughly 40 girls were later seen in a different field.

The paper cited reports that referred to intermediaries who reached out to Boko Haram, as saying that the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, ordered his fighters to treat the girls as valued hostages and not sex slaves. “He gave a directive that anybody found touching any of the girls should be killed immediately,” the report said.

The news came as another U.S. paper, USA Today, launched fresh attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan over his handling of the crisis.

Article Credit: Sahara Reporters