The United States said, yesterday, that it does not have information to support the claim by the Nigerian military that it knows the whereabouts of the more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls.

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has launched a move to free the more than 200 girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

FORTY-THREE days after more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in Chibok, Borno State by insurgent sect, Boko Haram, the Military High Command, yesterday, had cheering news for the traumatised parents as it said it has located where the girls were being held hostage but would not use force to rescue them.

Against the backdrop of divergent views on the need to negotiate with the Boko Haram Islamic sect for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by the sect from Chibok, Borno State, President Goodluck Jonathan re-echoed the government position, yesterday, declaring that the Federal Government will not with the sect for the release of the girls. He said the abducted girls must be released unconditionally.

The Federal Gov-ernment is to spend N968 billion or one qauarter of its 2014 budget, estimated at N4.964 trillion to fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the country, according to the provisions of the budget signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan,Wednesday but made public yesterday.

FRANCE, yesterday, declared that the Boko Haram sect will be treated like Al-Qaeda, just as the sect’s members, again, killed 29 people in a Borno border village.

The University of Jos was, yesterday, thrown into mourning when news hit the campus that a yet to be ascertained number of students, including seven 500 level medical students died in the bomb blasts on Tuesday. Meantime, both the university authorities and the Police could not confirm the news at press time last night.

The relative peace enjoyed by residents of Jos, Plateau State capital for some time was shattered, yesterday, as two bomb explosions ripped through Terminus Market in the city, killing no fewer than 118 persons and injuring several others . The Police, however, said that 46 were killed while 45 others were injured.

Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of ECOWAS, yesterday, restated its commitment to crushing insurgent Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

Boko Haram, which abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno a month ago, has backed down on its demand for a release of its top commanders by government before the abducted girls could be released.

Angry reactions yesterday trailed President Goodluck Jonathan’s last minute cancellation of a trip to Chibok, where over 200 female students of the Government Girls’ Secondary School, GGSS, were abducted last month by Boko Haram insurgents.
Parents of the abducted girls who had lined up waiting to receive President Jonathan on his sympathy visit to Chibok, ended up frustrated, as their ‘’August visitor’’ never turned up.

Few hours after some troops deployed to Borno on counter insurgency operations fired shots at the official vehicle of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maiduguri, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed as he attempted to address them, Defence Headquarters, yesterday, announced his immediate redeployment.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, yesterday, escaped death as angry soldiers opened fire on his official vehicle when he came to address them at the Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

SEVENTY-SEVEN of the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists, a month ago, have been identified from the video released Monday by the sect. This came as the United States disclosed that it is flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria in an effort to pinpoint the location of the abducted schoolgirls.

Distraught and traumatized parents of the female students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State abducted one month ago by Boko Haram terrorists, yesterday, reacted to the video of some of the abducted girls released by Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau expressing doubts over the authenticity of the video. However, some claimed that the video gave them hope that their daughters were still alive.