LAGOS
The families of a number of abducted Nigerian schoolgirls have recognized some of them from a video released by the militant Boko Haram group, a Nigerian governor said Tuesday.
"We brought the parents and teachers to Maiduguri and they were able to identify 54 students so far," Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima told a news briefing.
The governor spoke shortly after a number of protesters visited his office in Abuja.
"Leadership calls for restraint. Believe me, if I should speak, heads will roll," Shettima said in response to protesters' accusations that too little had been done to rescue the girls.
"Nobody has sought my input [as to] how to rescue the girls or negotiate," he added.
On Monday, Boko Haram released a video showing scores of girls kidnapped last month from their boarding school in Borno State.
In the footage, militant leader Abubakar Shekau offers to exchange the abducted girls for Boko Haram militants held by Nigerian authorities.
The abductions have triggered global outrage, with several countries joining Nigerian efforts to rescue the kidnapped girls.
By Rafiu Ajakaye
englishnews@aa.com.tr
