The missing girls of Nigeria have reportedly been sighted, according to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, reports the BBC.
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Governor Shettima says that he has passed on the reports of the sightings to the military who will then follow up on the tip-offs.
In addition, France President Francois Hollande has offered to host a security summit next Saturday with Nigeria’s neighbors that would focus on child abductors and Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram.
Hollande said, “I suggested, with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, a meeting of Nigeria’s neighboring countries. If the countries agree, it should take place next Saturday.”
Therefore, the meeting would include Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria; the U.K., European Union, and the United States are also invited to attend.
Earlier this week, the United States, China, France, and the U.K. all pledged to offer assistance in returning the missing girls of Chibok and Warabe home.
Now Israel has also committed to deploying a “counter-terrorism team” to the region.
And while the United States and the U.K. have agreed to provide their respective counter-intelligence and hostage expertise, they went on record to say that they will not provide military manpower on the ground.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterated this point on Sunday when he said, “There’s no intention at this point to be putting any American boots on the ground.” And while U.K. Prime Minsiter David Cameron seemingly echoed Hagel’s point, he seemed open to the idea if pressed, “I said to President Jonathan where we can help, please ask, and we will see what we can do. I rang the Nigerian president to offer anything that would be helpful and we agreed to send out a team that includes some counter-terrorism and intelligence experts to work alongside the bigger American team that’s going out there.”
Events concerning the missing girls of Government Secondary School seemed to read out of a tragic action film last week, with Boko Haram finally claiming responsibility for the girls’ abduction on Monday.
Also on Monday, was the news that later that night eight girls from Warabe, Borno State, were also kidnapped.
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By Tuesday, Nigerian police would announce a reward for anyone who could help locate or rescue the girls. Hours later, the United States would offer their assistance, followed by the aforementioned world powers.
The auspicious reprieve would be shattered with the news that Boko Haram had waged a devastating attack on Borno State — this time slaughtering at least 150 people.
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At the time, officials predicted the final death count would be double the initial amount.
The seemingly unceasing assault of Boko Haram eclipsed the annual World Economic Forum that focused on job growth on the continent and was hosted in Abuja from May 7th to May 9th; #BringBackOurGirls supporters demanded that WEF leaders and participants use the conference to locate the missing girls.
WEF leaders soon seemed to meet the challenge, with the aforementioned nations solidifying their commitment to Nigeria. In addition, Nigeria’s business leaders pledged $10 million to fortify 500 schools, and billionaire Aliko Dangote offered $2.3 billion to galvanize employment in the northern region with investments in agriculture.
Now, with this latest development, the world continues to watch.
Story developing….
RELATED: China, U.S., France, U.K. & Billionaire All Pledge To #BringBackOurGirls at WEF 2014
