UPDATED 5:13 P.M. EST, 5/6/14: According to Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Dr. Reuben Abati, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on behalf of President Barack Obama at 15:30 hours on Tuesday in order to facilitate the recovery of the missing Nigerian students, according to the Leadership.
Abati released the following statement, after the collaboration became public:
“Mr. Kerry assured President Jonathan that the United States is wholly committed to giving Nigeria all required support and assistance to save the abducted girls and bring the reign of terror unleashed on parts of the country by Boko Haram to an end.”
The agreement ensures that U.S. security personnel and assets will be deployed in tandem with Nigerian forces.
In addition, President Jonathan requested “American counter-insurgency know-how and expertise in support of their efforts.”
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UPDATED 1:20 P.M. EST, 5/6/14: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry‘s offer to help recover the abducted girls of Nigeria, according to Al Jazeera America.
The embattled leader reportedly accepted the offer over a phone call made by Kerry.
In addition, Britain’s First Secretary of State William Hague also confirmed that Britain will also offer their assistance:
We continue to offer #Nigeria UK assistance. And I’m hosting London Summit to End #sexualviolence in Conflict in June http://t.co/aBYEaa1s6t
— William Hague (@WilliamJHague) May 6, 2014
Story developing….
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Like pouring acid on an open wound, more girls were reportedly kidnapped in northern Nigeria Monday night, reports Reuters.
RELATED: Mothers Break Down at Abducted School Girls Protest
Eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15 were allegedly abducted by Boko Haram along with livestock and food. Lazarus Musa, a resident of Warabe, a village reportedly located near the border of Cameroon and the Sambisa Forest Reserve, added, “They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army color. They started shooting in our village.” The location of the village is relevant, because Boko Haram commander Mamman Nur 
(pictured at right) is known to lead in that area; Nur is also known to have trained directly with fellow terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia. Al-Shabaab also made headlines on Sunday for allegedly being responsible for two explosions in front of a hotel that killed three people and wounded at least 62 on passenger buses in Nairobi, Kenya. On Monday, after nearly three weeks of silence, Boko Haram finally claimed responsibility for the mass kidnappings of girls who were at Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened to sell the girls to the “marketplace” in an unsettling video that was sent to the press.
Watch Abubakar Shekau’s troubling threat here:
RELATED: BREAKING: Boko Haram Claims Responsibility for Missing Girls, Threatens To Sell Them
If Boko Haram does eventually claim Monday night’s kidnappings, it will underscore many critics’ views that allowing the terrorist organization to hold on to more than 200 girls for three weeks further emboldens them to continue terrorizing their communities through abusing children, exacerbating an already precarious and deadly situation for northern Nigeria citizens.
