abuja, this city is due to hold a huge event. the world economic forum next week with heads of state coming here from all over the world. >> well there the view from the bus station. let's go to holly gordon, president of girl rising, global campaign for girl education. this features the stories of schoolgirls. you were in nigeria last october. 230 missing. what are your predictions? >> well it's obviously a great tragedy that citizenship of nigeria has to deal with things like this bus explosion. for girls in nigeria the opportunity to have education for any child in the world, the opportunity?vfÑ3u a[7][?[zncvl[wÃfuture. so i'm very hopeful about the future. i'm always hopeful. suddenly this kidnapping is a great, great tragedy. >> we're seeing protestors at the moment holly, who have been protesting the families in particular. what is your thoughts on the level of progress and what boko haram is trying to do? >> boko haram has made girl education their work. we have a different opinion around the world. we have seen what h

in abuja. very good to have you on the program. >> good to be here. >> can you give us a sense, this was supposed to be nigeria's shining moment this conference. how has this violent overshadowed? >> this is extremely important for the country. it coincides with the fact that the country has been determined to be the largest economy in africa and it was meant to be a celebration of the fact that nigeria has a rapidly growing economy. that's quickly diversifying, and has a lot of opportunity for international investors. but the conversation so far during the summit has been muted, the economic conversation has been muted by this national tragedy. but the message that's come out from the government as well as from a lot of the attendees from around the world is that terrorism will not be tolerated and that people will not shy away from nigeria and the opportunities here, and the need here, simply because of an isolated incident, that occurs in the northern part of the country. people are very ups

the latest from abuja. >>> born free in south africa on the eve of the election. we hear from the post apartheid generation. >>> thailand's prime minister denies all accusations that she abused her powers. yingluck shinawatra testified before a constitution court. a group of senators filed a case. if found guilty she'll have to stand down. yingluck shinawatra has been sued in a separate case by the anticorruption party. six months of protests have so far failed to force her out of office. and we'll get from from our correspondent in bangkok. what is the case against prime minister yingluck shinawatra? >> reporter: all right, this case stems from an action in 2011, transferring her national security chief out of the post to become the prime minister of advisor, which effectively is a powerless inactive position. she accused of using that transfer and manoeuvring a relative by marriage to the position of police chief. in a testimony on tuesday, prime minister yingluck shinawatra said that her actions, whatever she did, was for the sake of the company and defended th

bbc news abuja. >>> joining me now from abuja, the nigerian capitalist, elder from the tribe dealing closely with the families of the missing girls. doctor, thank you very much for your time. we haven't heard directly from nigeria's first lady about the criticisms she's directing at people)jjjjp marching in ro tes what they say is government inaction. we hear are from aç correspondt there's been criticism. what can you tell us about that? >> criticism is bound to come whether from the first lady or any other person. criticisms will come from government side and from the families of the girl who is have been abducted. these are not uncommon in situations. we believe they are very soon truth will come out. whichever side have to accept the truth will have to live with it. >> but also the same bbc correspond end said the first lady ordered arrest over two people taking part in protests. there isn't a single parent in the world that doesn't sympathize with those mothers and fathers of those daughters, of those girls taken. >> yeah, that's true. i'm just from police station where i'm to

we're joined now from abuja. i guess in this emotional interview she was giving you people wondering where did she find the courage and why did she decide to share her story first hand with cnn? >> well, she said it was three of them, it was her and two other friends. one friend actually, unfortunately, broke her leg attempting to escape. she said that she came on to trees and her friend just clung to first branch. she jumped from that tree, broke her leg and was picked up again by the militants. she was eventually found later in the forest in a bad state. they felt she was too heavy a burden to take on. you can understand being in that position and trying to weigh up that risk, where are they taking us, what are they going to do to us. in that moment it became very clear to her that she couldn't do that to herself. she couldn't take that risk for her family. so she jumped. and miraculously, she landed, she rolled, there were some cuts and bruises on her, but that was it. then she hid in the forest, waited till d

in april, fighters targeted abuja, blowing up a bus grader killing 100 people. boko haram has a credibility problem, and so does the nigerian government. >> the biggest issue is credibility. in the mid '90s, they started out as a group that prayed on the grievance of northern nigerians. it tried to fill a gap for those not seen as credible or worthy. the nigerian government did not step up and fill the void. >> most of the boko haram's members are poverty stricken young men who crew up in society where men are in control. a reason girl's schools are targeted is because boko haram's members believe educated women are threats to male authority. >> emma woods joins us now, tonight from washington d.c. she is the - she's with the institute for policy studies and focuses on diplomacy issues in africa. welcome. >> thank you. good to be with you. >> it's good to be with you. let me start by talking about boko haram. how sophisticated is the group when it comes to weapons, strategy and training? >> the issue is this is a fringe group that started off, elevating a decade

the twin bombings follow blasts in the capital abuja. the islamist extremists are still holding more than 200 schoolgirls they abducted over five weeks ago. at a recent summit, several western countries pledged to help the nigerian government find the girls. >> it's operating clearly as an al qaeda organization. can best be described as al qaeda in west and central africa. and work together to make sure that we rout out these terrorists. >> reporter: but the violence appears to be out of control with frequent bombings and incessant attacks in the northeast. where large areas appear virtually off limits to the nigerian military. will ross, bbc news, abuja. >> seeing the pictures from jos which are dreadful enough, can you just fill us in a little bit more on alagarno and what we understand has happened there? >> well, it was an attack that we understand was done by suspected members of the islamic militant group boko haram. they razed down the whole town. when we spoke at that time they were burying their dead. this is a town in northeast

let's get more from abuja. i gather you've not seen the video as yet. what do we know and how do we know it's genuine? >> no, i haven't seenç the vid yet. i've spoke ton someone that saw the slid ovideo. he tells me the leader of boko haram is in the video saying he's ready to release the girls but on the condition all prisoners from the group are also released. the video shows over 100 girls saying they have converted to islam. three girls have spoke on in the video according to the person that told me. one of the girls looked terrified in the video. these are the details gather ed from the ten minute video that's just been released in the last one hour. >> do we know how this video has come to light? >> we don't know, but i mean the normal source we receive information like this and get the correspondent is the normal route that he has seen the video. it looks authentic. it came through the route previous videos have come to him from the group. >> this demand for the release of prisoners, who are boko haram referring to precisely? >> there are a num

at this mosque in abuja worshippers have been praying for the girls after every scripture of class. and where the girls were kidnapped called for three days of fasting. >> a sense of unity and solidarity and togetherness and regardless of people's faith, people's tribe and geographic location. it's our concern, all of us. >> reporter: many people asked people from the united states and britain to assist nigeria authorities. protesters say they need to keep the pressure going. >> i have the right for a peaceful gathering. nobody is going to violate that right. i am not going anywhere. i have the right in my society. this is a democracy, military rule, i protest not to cutoff democracy, i'm not going anywhere again agagentlemen. >> and i'm with al jazeera abuja. >> the continuing violence in south sudan is a reminder the civil war between the north and south during the 80s and 90s and thousands of children were orphaned and others homeless are known as the lost boys and girls and many brought to the united states including a group of girls adopted by a community in colorado and we rep

more consider willed and 100 wounded at a bombing in a bus station in the nigerian capital city of abuja. more than 300 people were murdered in a boko haram attack last week. boko haram has killed over 1,500 people in the last year alone. i want to welcome my partner in the africa subcommittee, senator flake, as well as chairman me men does, ranking member corker and other members, as we look at these kidnappings and the growing threat by boko haram. when we looked at the persistent divides between the north and south and economic potential, governance, education and social services and the very real security challenges created by these differences. nigeria is an important partner in the region, but boko haram has capitalized on pervasive corruption, poor governance and growing poverty in the north to undermine domestic and regional stability. boko haram whose name means western education is sinful targets public institutions, churches and schools. and children are the frequent victims of its vicious attacks. as new york times columnist nick chris to have wrote last weekend the greatest

will ross, bbc news, abuja. >> nigeria's government under pressure. as violence flared in nigeria, the scale of conflict in south sudan is gaining international attention. fighting has largely broken down on ethnic lines. they have left thousands dead stop it has led to the comparisons to the rwandan genocide. u.s. secretary of state is in the world's youngest country trying to broker a peace deal. from the capital, we have this report. a warning, it contained some disturbing images. >> there is anger and tension in south sudan. inside the united nations camp in cuba, 20,000 people have been living on top of each other for not in appalling conditions. -- have been living on top of each other for months in appalling conditions. they have marks on their for head that they fear could get them killed. john was an engineer with the electricity ministry. now he sells phone cards. he has not lost since december when a political row opened a tribal rift and sport civil war. he is afraid to leave. >> i cannot go home. there is no security. >> they will kill yo

we are now in abuja. if i could quickly start on comments we've had in the last hour by the finance minister. she's saying all available technology will now be used. this international focus and the focus from the government is three weeks on from the abduction. >> indeed. i think it's coming three weeks after the abduction. the president of nigeria beforÈ the comment by the finance minister also said that they have used helicopters and air crafts. it was land around nigeria. they were not able to locate where over 200 girls, missing children have been located at the moment. i think at the moment i think it's this good news coming to nigeria that they're saying they're going to help nigeria and locate the whereabouts of these girls. >> forum is due to be held there tomorrow. is that the reason for this sudden focus of what's going on in nigeria? we've had news of another incident today. >> there's news of another incident. i think what has happened over the past week there's been outrage by nigerians and

mission in abuja. but also, the very real problem of not being designated a foreign terrorist organization. i held two hearings on boko haram. emmanuel agabe was at one of those hearings. i went with him, he joined us in joes and in abuja and we met with people who had been the victims of fire bombings, christians, as well as some muslims who are targeted for killings by these thugs, and he made it very clear then, and he is now accompanying deborah peter, just how this is only going to get worse unless all means are used to destroy this terrible threat.only going to g all means are used to destroy this terrible threat. it took years to get that designation. i look forward to what the answer might be. it wasn't until we had another hearing, and at that hearing it was announced that yes, it would be designated an fto, i don't know, i still can't understand what the delay was, when -- and i asked ambassador johnny carson repeatedly at one of those hearings, and that's the one that mr. ogabe testified at,

one in abuja followed by another one ten days later. yesterday, the military saying this man, one of the masterminds of that bombing, has been arrested in sudan. this is one of the suspected bombers, boko haram suspect. and this guy here, abubakar shekau, is still at large. so some advancement in the rooting out of boko haram. >> investigation under way, leads in the hands of vladimir duthie duthiers. thanks for that report. >>> hope is fading that any more survivors will be found in the aftermath of that deadly mine explosion in turkey. it's a grim, grim scene in the city of soma. smoke and fumes still rising from this collapsed mine, and that's hampering the rescue. there are 274 known dead, 120 others still trapped under ground, likely gone. let's bring in diana magnay live from soma, turkey, this morning. this is an epic disaster, for mining, for turkey. what is the status of the rescue right now? >> reporter: it is, christine, and the death toll actually has risen to 282. it makes it turkey's worst ever industrial disaster, the gre

but boko haram have attacked targets here in abuja as well. so the head of the school says she follows the government's security advice. maintaining a firm perimeter of walls and fencing around her charges. >> schools are not fenced. before schools are not fenced. now almost all the schools are fenced. check in and out. >> reporter: the boarding school that was attacked in northeastern nigeria, its girls taken away, would have needed more than good fencing. it's in the middle of a war zone. boko haram means "western education is a sin." and the leader of the nigerian union of teachers says over 170 of his members have been killed by the islamist group. >> these people just come from nowhere and begin to shoot. they are the educators. they are the ones that preach the gospel of education. what they want is arabic education. in an attempt to say you are to give this education to the young girls, you are their target, and you are enemy number one. >> reporter: so it's come to this. parts of nigeria are not safe for school children or their teache

thousands took to the streets of nigeria's abuja. ynonne ndedge is there. >> reporter: concerned nigerians are on the streets, maftening to the chief of -- marching to the chief of defense staff office to put pressure on security service, to find hundreds of missing girls. the anger is fuelled by the fact that the leader of boko haram has released a new tape in which he says he abducted the girls and plans to sell them on the open market. they are emboldened by the concerns of the international community. the u.n. came out to say what boko haram said they'll do is a crime against humanity. the u.k. promised to help, and the u.s. administration has basically said there has been talks between the united states and nigeria about what can be done to find the girls. many of these people feel the nigeria government ought to take the lead to find them. >>> joining us by phone is robin sander, a former ambassador. what are the short comics of the nigerian government and how might the u.s. security personnel be able to help. >> good evening.

wanco in abuja and he is a civil service activist and thank you very much for joining us. why is the case of the missing school girls not on the front pages of a nigerian press? >> well, there has been a lot of worry among nigerians but the nigerian media has not picked this up as should have been the case because it has been so much of this bad news coming from the northeast part of nigeria. there has been previous kidnaps and abductions of school girls or even unmarried citizens. but more to the extent than we have. this is really quite a lot of people kidnapped at this time in one single incident. >> there are some who are suggesting this case could, in fact, turn out to be good news for a president good luck onthon out of the elections next year because it basically takes away, distracts from the many other issues that nigeria is facing right now, do you believe that? what do you think the fall out from this is going to be? >> well, the fall out is evidence, we have a government that has not been able to deliver on their promises. they kidnapped and the incident in bor

vladimir duthiers is tracking developments live from abuja, nigeria. vlad, the message we are getting here in the united states from u.s. military officials is they just don't think the nigerians are up to this task. >> reporter: john, that does seem to be the case. the nigerians have always struggled to put down this insurgency. in fact, many of the local residents, including the governor of borno state himself, has told cnn that the nigerian military is outmanned and outgunned when it comes to fighting boko haram. they typically are facing an adversary that has rocket-propelled grenade launchers, they come in armored personnel vehicles, and they even, we are told, have antiaircraft weapons. so, when you're talking about a military that is basically going into the field with an ak-47, perhaps one magazine to stem usually something like 200 terrorists that arrive to raze a village, it becomes very challenging to do so. in addition, they don't doo not have the capabilities of fighting a terrorist insurgency. they have plenty of peacekeeping experience.

rawya rageh has more from abuja. >> likely to cause further distress. in the 17 minute video releaseby their boko haram kidnappers the girls are heard speaking in arabic, reciting lines from the koran. third says she's muslim. it's hard to determine from the video the location where it was shot. boko haram leader also makes a separate appearance. he says he will not let the girls go unless incarcerated members of the group are set free. as every day goes by confidence in the nigerian authorities has been steadily eroding. video, undoubtedly a new cause for anger grief and frustration, rawya rageh al jazeera abuja. >> j.j. green joins us. j.j. i imagine the first thing would be to authentic this tape. >> what they're going to be doing is looking for any kind of clues, any kind of digital signatures or electronic signatures that might be in this video. they're also going to be looking to figure out who's in it, how it was done, when it was done. writ was done. and how -- where it was done. and how it was passed on. those are things that can give them some

our arwa damon in abuja this morning. thanks so much. >>> new details this morning about the days leading up to the terrifying massacre in southern colorado. six uc santa barbara students were killed. 13 other people were injured before elliot rodger took his own life. police say three of those he murdered were his roommates, and now a friend of his family says rodger had a long-running feud with these roommates, claiming they were noisy and played video games at all hours. but the mother of victim weihan wong says her son was planning to move out because it was rodger who was noisy. classes on campus are expected to resume tomorrow after a memorial today. >>> and president biden pledging to follow the sacred obligation to take care of veterans. several facilities are being investigated over doctored wait times. speaking at a bike event for veterans, the vice president vowed to do something about this. >> the only truly sacred obligation we have, before every other obligation that exists in this country is to equip those

al jazeera, yvonne ndege reports from abuja. >> why the rescue effort has so far failed. some church goers are planning overnight vigils, until the girls are found. >> i have a daughter i have a son, it's painful. if i should put myself in the shoos of the parents painful. >> reporter: the missing girls. >> what we would can request is maximum cooperation from the guidance, because up to this the time, they have not been able to come clearly to judge yet to return. >> reporter: news of the abductions have spread around the world. accused the nigerian government of mishandling the effort. >> has the might of the entire military of the country. he has financial resources at his disposal. and he can make things happen if he actually wants to make things happen. so there shouldn't be any excuses. >> reporter: people have been protesting in london too. there's a global social media drive under the hashtag #bringbackourgirls, from international celebrities. >> it's wrong. they need to be found and returned to their families safely as soon as possible. >> reporter: public anger

i'm joined now on the line from abuja. the senator for the state of borno, one of three states un r undera state of emergency. let's start where from the raid monday. what can you tell us about that? >> in the afternoon about 1:30. they did operation throughout the day until 1:00 in the night. a lot of people walk in. over 300 -- >> who are they? are you talking about b ining a haram? >> it is boko haram. one surprising thing is that the military together with civilian. the military left that city in the first of abducted girls. they said they had information. the following day boko haram came in. so that is the scenario. boko haram attack had the village. >> the army is culpable of leaving the village they were camped out unprotected? >> exactly. exactly. so it is really surprising when they left the city. even volunteers protecting the city. >> why aren't more army personnel sent to the area? because they're tied up with the world economic forum in abuja at the moment? >> no. they have enough soldiers over there. equipme

vlad duthers in abuja for us. thank you, vlad. >>> and the question this morning in ukraine is, well, what is next, now that voters in two eastern provinces have approved a referendum calling for independence and an annexation with russia. but that vote is being called into question by the west and ukraine's own government, some calling it illegitimate. ukraine's interim prime minister is in brussels today holding talks with european officials as a new poll conducted for cnn finds that most ukrainians, even those in the east, do not want to become part of a different nation. atika shubert is live in donetsk, ukraine. and atika, what's interesting about this is that russia has not said that they will consider annexing these two provinces. they've already annexed crimea. all they really want is a new constitution that gives these pro-russians greater policy-making decisions. >> reporter: yeah, it's a stark contrast to what happened in crimea. it was very smooth, very quick. within a week crimea voted for independenc

let's get the latest from vladimir duthiers, live from abuja, nigeria. those attacks in the northern part of the country, those are sanctioned, really, by the government? >> reporter: that's right, christine. this comes under the aegis of the joint task force, rooting out boko haram in northern nigeria. they've empowered a civilian task force. the group doesn't necessarily have authority, other than that provided by the police, but this is how people in northeastern nigeria have been living since 2009. they feel that the military themselves are unable to do the job that is required, and so, they themselves have been taken to protecting themselves and their loved ones. the problem with that, obviously, christine, is that the united nations, human rights watch, amnesty international, has already accused the nigerian military of committing extrajue judicial killings, forced and illegal detentions. it gets worse when you have civilians undertaking the task of what should be the police and the military. but there have been inroads made with boko haram in the

this report from abuja. >> nigerians at the church in abuja praying for the kidnapped girls to be found. there's popular pressure on the president goodluck jonathan. he set up a committee to investigate how the abductions took place, and why the rescue effort so far failed. some churchgoers are planning overnight vigils until the girls are found. >> this is pitiful. i am a father. i have daughters and a son. it's painful. if i put myself in the shoes of the parents. >> in a question and answer session with journalists on state tv the president said this on the missing girl. >> it was believed that he may get him out. what we request is maximum cooperation from the appearance of these girls. up to this time, they have not been able to clearly give the police the identity of the girls yet to return. >> public anger is fuelled by the conflicting figures from the different level of government about how many girls are affected. >> they tell lies about finding 121 girls. while after some times we discover that it was a pure lie. and i believe they are still working on the lies. they are not d

more from abuja. >> reporter: almost a month after the abductor, nigerians are praying for safe release. >> the catholic church called on its congregations to hold special prayers. many responded to the call as at the holy rosary church in abuja. >> it is really important to come pray for the girls because affection ploring all options in terms of the government and trying to make claims to rescue the girls, the nigerian catholic church urged all to pray instead of trading blame and accusations. at this mosque in central abuj a they say worshippers have been praying for the girls. the govern of the predominant state called for three days of fasting. >> this has brought a sense of unity, solidarity, togetherness regardless of people's faith, people's, you know, tribe and people's geographic location. it's our concern, you know, all of us. >> many nigerians have welcomed the arrival of technical and law enl forcement and from the united states and britain. they say they need to keep the pressure going. they want to ensure the government does not relent until the search and rescue efforts

spoken to, i have spoken to at least two family members who were part of the ongoing protest here in abuja and they told us they were not able to locate their own relatives among the girls who were kidnapped. appearing on the video. there are some concerns that these may not be the girls of the many there are way too many girls who have appeared on that one video. we have talked to the education minister of borno state, he told us they called in some of the girls managed to escape from the captivity to credit identify whether indeed those are the girls or not. >> after talking to the families and the principal does the government yet have a firm number on the number of girls who were actually kidnapped? any news on where they think they might be held? >> well, all along, this has been a very murky and a very complicated picture, david. what we understand is that there are still more than 270 girls still in captivity. the nigerian army says it has sent two army divisions on the ground. that essentially amounts to thousands of troops on the ground in borno state, searching for these girls, t

the group boko haram, mohammed adow reports from abuja . >> reporter: the epi center of most of boko haram's attacks in recent years. he says he is unhappy with how the government is handling the crisis. >> i feel disgusted, and i feel very, very bad for a country like nigeria who has a lot of resources, a lot of manpower, a lot of army, you know, and this they cannot contain a small group? >> but for the security forces, boko haram's attacks have represented new challenges. at times, they are out gunned by boko haram fighters action something the ♪ senator zanna said should not happen given hoy well funded the nigerian army is. >> between 2012 and 2013, we gave them about 1.5 trillion lyr lyra, to about $10,000,000,000. even if they were given just a quarter of that money, i am sure they wouldn't have the complaint of lack of equipment to fight. >> for now, boko haram continues its campaign of violence almost unhindered. it has killed thousands of people. last month's ab duction of more than 270 school girls from the small village of chibok in borno by the group received global at

we are in abuja. >> reporter: it's taken three weeks. finally the people are being heard. under state of emergency cut off from the world, pictures continue to emerge from this remote northern nigerian town. in this cell phone footage taken by a local resident and obtained by cnn. this student says she was able to escape. so many of her classmates were not. more video from nigerian station tv, cnn cannot verify the authenticity in which this young girl says boko haram stormed her school. now they fear the worse. for more than 200 of their classmates still missing after being kidnapped by the terrorist group. with the attention of the world now firmly focused on nigeria, here at abuja's economic forum, the president responded to criticism that his government hasn't done enough. >> i believe that this will be the beginning of the end of terror in nigeria. >> reporter: pledging help from the united states and other governments are gaining traction. >> we're learning that united states personnel are scheduled to arrive. meanwhile in chibok it means little. lawlessness is the n

and that's one of the things that we're talking to the military leadership in abuja about right now. about how to get the training and also the orientation of the forces under control so that they will feel more competent to face the threat. >> the -- the military has declined in effectiveness in nigeria is really traced to fear that the political leadership has to military coup. that's been the pattern that's been followed around other countries as well. is that what you trace the decline to? and how -- is this political leadership now, this president and those around him, do they fear strengthening the military for that purpose fearing a coup later? what is the relationship right now between political leadership and the military? >> the relationship between the political leadership and the military itself is reasonably healthy. i do -- my understanding is that the weakening of the nigerian military does trace back a couple of decades, at least, to concerns about capability for a coup. at this point, that isn't a concern in nigeria. another concern which my colleagues can also speak

debora patta joins us now from nigeria's capital, abuja. patta joins us now from nigeria's capital, abuja. >> reporter: well, the latest attack by boko haram took place in a very remote village scott, on the border of cameroon, which makes it extremely difficult to get reliable information but we understand that militants opened fire with automatic weapons in a crowded marketplace and killed at least 100 people. but i should stress that that's number is very difficult to verify. >> bring back our girls! >> reporter: nigerian police appealed for help for the first time since the mass kidnapping of the teenaged girls more than three weeks ago. >> ♪ all we are saying... >> reporter: after news of a second kidnapping of eight more girls, public anger boiled over. criticized worldwide for a slow and inept response, the nigerian government has been deeply embarrassed, just as world leaders arrived in the capital for a meeting designed to attract foreign investment. parents of the missing girls believe the tight security arrangements for the con

debora patta is in nigeria's capital, abuja. debora. >> reporter: the kidnap investigation completely overshadowed the world economic forum which is taking place here in abuja, and even president good luck jonathan is feeling the heat. he used his opening address to say that the kidnappings mark the beginning of the end of terror in this country. but for the families of those missing girls in chibok, there is no end in sight. the classrooms are empty, looted. these charred remains of the school in chibok are a stark reminder of the kidnapped school girls missing now for 25 days. villagers wait for any word from their daughters' kidnappers, anything is better than silence. al jazeera english interviewed this mother who said she'd give up her life to have her daughter freed. >> they should go into my house, burn my house, break everything inside of my house, give my daughter. that would be better for me. >> reporter: well-armed islamic militants from boko haram herded more than 200 girls into trucks and drove off. the group has te

. >>> we'll take you to abuja and join our editor in abuja. we know these international teams on the ground looking for the girls. what about the broader fights against boko haram? is the nigerian government wanting international help to tackle that? >> i think yes. government welcomes the help from the international community to secure release of girls and help bring an end to the violence that is perpetrated by the islamist group boko haram. the help is welcomed from u.s., france, china. there's going to be a meeting next weekend in france in which goodluck jonathan is going to attend and talk about the wiede aspects of war. i think the international help is not just about securing the girls. yes, it's the priority at the moment. the goal is to fight against boko haram and bring an end to the violence. >> there's been a bit of contradiction in the government's tragedy in trying to get the girls back. are they generally exploring all options. is everything on the table? >> well according to the latest report from the government is they're con

let's bring in vladimir duthiers live from nigeria's capital city abuja. this is sort of the boko haram playbook, isn't it? a threatening letter and then sometimes, there's a strike that follows? >> reporter: that's right, christina. people can only imagine what it's like, you're trying to get an education. you're sending your child to school in one of the least educated. one of the poorest areas there. people believing that education is the path out of poverty. you send your child to school and you receive a letter that boko haram intends to strike your school. in this particular case, they targeted a boys dormitory. in the past, boko haram does not kidnap boys. back in february, they attackeded a school, they slaughtered aft least 40 boys. many burned in their beds. some tried to escape or were hacked to death with machetes. the girls were spared. they were told to go home, to stay away from school and get married. that's the boko haram modus operandi. and that's what people in nigeria are living under since 2009. the bravery of these children that conti

they've put a $30,000 bounty on his head to have him killed. >> glor: debora patta is in abuja today. amnesty international says now the nigerian government actually had warning that the school attack was going to happen. what you can tell us about that? >> reporter: well, from its local contacts on the ground, jeff, amnesty international says it's learned that local officials warned the nigerian military of boko haram's impending attack four hours before the kidnappings took place but did nothing about it. this is likely to fuel local sentiment that the nigerian government doesn't care about the north and has given up on it, virtually handing it over to boko haram. >> glor: debora patta, thank you very much. a line of severe weather is moving across the center of the country. this follows powerful storms yesterday. in texas, 70-mile-an-hour winds blew bricks off buildings. the storms extended all the way to the northern plains. in minnesota, several tornadoes touched down. one of them ripped the roof off a home. eric fisher is chief meteorologist at our cbs station in boston. he is t

from abuja, yvonne dagin >> reporter: the world economic forum was supposed to show case the economic and business opportunities in nigeria to investors from around the world. it is being overshat owed by violence in the northeast. hundreds of people were killed in a village on monday and more than 200 girls are being held hostage by the armed group, boko h hor a.m. -- haram. the government decided today go ahead despite the violence. . >> . >> it's a major blow to terrorism. >> nigeria is a country of enormous contrasts. it's economy is booming. it's the worthed's 25th largest and it became at a time biggest economy and they are trying to cash in on the huge market of over 160 million people. the economy is fueled by a massive growth in mobile telecom, ag culture, banking and the nali wood film industry. but they have big problems to overcome. it's the world's 13th largest oil exporter but it's losing billions of dollars every year, an estimated 100,000 barrels of oil are stolen every day. there has been an up surge in violent religious ethnic disputes that have killed hundreds of pe

arwa damon is in abuja. the was a truly amazing day. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. for over 18 years we've helped people take care of the things that matter most. join today at angieslist.com trwith secure wifie for your business. it also comes with public wifi for your customers. not so with internet from the phone company. i would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. but that would require wifi. switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. >>> for more than six weeks, the parents of the kidnapped nigerian schoolgirls have been waiting for word on the children. this is what they got from the government. >> the good news for the girls is we -- okay, we cannot tell you military secrets. leave us alone. we are working. we gill get the girls back. >> our senior correspondent arwa damon is joining us from the capital abuja. you just heard it, they say they know

our vladimir duthiers is live in abuja with the latest. vlad, give us a sense of what these drones can do and if there is a sense that they will help in this search. >> reporter: hi, john. good morning. well, certainly, the area that the drones are meant to be searching is a very large area. in fact, it is bigger than the state of west virginia. and up to this point, the nigerian military has been unable more than six weeks later to find any sign of these girls. and so, this area is considered dense, it's considered very porous in terms of border security, and it's known to be a boko haram stronghold. so, these aerial drones flying over the area will at least give the nigerian military and the partner nationed searching for these girls some idea perhaps of where these girls might have been taken. but john, as you know, u.s. intelligence reports these girls may have been split up and trafficked into neighboring cameroon, chad, niger, so it will be challenging. the military says they have 20,000 troops deployed to the area, but still no sign

vladimir duthiers in abuja. thanks for being there for us. >>> now to ukraine, where this morning much of the country is not celebrating a national holiday. it's victory day marking the soviet union's defeat of nazi germany. there are increasing worries that that could mean more violence on the streets this morning, so public events are canceled, stores are closed. a different scene in moscow, though, with a huge parade. and in crimea, where just weeks after voting for independence, there are rumors vladimir putin may join the celebrations there. phil black is live for us this morning. phil, what's the scene right now for you? >> reporter: christine, we are seeing a huge display of patriotism, russian patriotism. where i'm standing now may be considered by much of the international community to be disputed or even occupied territory, but not according to the huge crowds here in sevastopol. there's been a big military parade through the streets of this city, a big crowd out waving russian flags, other patriotic s

and that's one of the things that we're talking to the military leadership in abuja about right now. about how to get the training and also the orientation of the forces under control so that they will feel more competent to face the threat. >> the -- the military has declined in effectiveness in nigeria is really traced to fear that the political leadership has to military coup. that's been the pattern that's been followed around other countries as well. is that what you trace the decline to? and how -- is this political leadership now, this president and those around him, do they fear strengthening the military for that purpose fearing a coup later? what is the relationship right now between political leadership and the military? >> the relationship between the political leadership and the military itself is reasonably healthy. i do -- my understanding is that the weakening of the nigerian military does trace back a couple of decades, at least, to concerns about capability for a coup. at this point, that isn't a concern in nigeria. another concern which my colleagues can also speak

arwa damon is live in abuja in nigeria this morning. and arwa, explain this to us. was this an off-handed remark by a defense official in nigeria, or is this a legitimate claim, hey, we really know where they are and we can get them when we want? >> reporter: well, that's exactly what we've been trying to figure out, placing numerous calls to various spokespeople within the ministry of defense, ministry of information, trying to ascertain exactly what sort of intelligence is behind that comment made by the defense chief of we know where the girls are but we're not going to tell you just yet out of concern for any sort of operational security. also saying that they would not be launching or would not be using force to try to rescue these girls. the u.s., for its part, saying that it does not have solid evidence at this stage about where the girls actually may be, but they do have information, and that's pretty much what we've been hearing all along. they are believed to be somewhere in the northeastern part of the country, split up into smaller groups. very difficult

vladimir duthiers is live in abuja with the latest on this. vlad, what kind of difference can these drones and these extra troops make? >> reporter: hey, john, good morning. well, this is going to make some difference, because up until this point, the nigerian military, six weeks on after these girls were abducted in the middle of the night from their dormitories, has not been able to locate them. the president of nigeria, goodluck jonathan, saying he has no idea where they are, but he has 20,000 nigerian troops in northeastern nigeria actively searching for these girls, still coming up empty-handed. so, whatever the united states, france and china, the other countries surrounding nigeria, chad, niger, cameroon, benin, putting each battalion of troops on the ground to help locate these girls, it's going to hopefully do something to bring a resolution to this, but six weeks on, we still have no idea where these girls are. and for the parents waiting for some kind of hope, some semblance that these children will be back to them, they're going to

authorities in abuja say they have not been able to locate their relatives on the video yet. the educational commissioner has told the authorities in abuja that they have called in some of the school authorities and are family members to identify the girls on the video, if true, very shocking images. their kidnapping has shocked the world. and now the images of the girls are likely to cause further distress. in the 17 minute video the girls are heard speaking in arabic, reciting lines from the koran. three of the girls are also interviewed. two say they were christian, converted to islam, and the other said she was muslim. the leader makes a separate appearance. he says he will not let the girls go unless incarcerated girls from the -- incarcerated prisoners from the group were released from custody. undoubtedly another cause for ageanger grief and frustration . >> does it talk about what it might do or is everything still being played quite close to the chest? >> quite close to the chest indeed kamahl. the military says it has sent two divisions from the army thousands of so

we have this report from abuja. >> reporter: nig earians at the church in abuja praying for the kidnapped girls to be found. there's pressure on the president goodluck jonathan. he set up a committee on why the girls were kidnapped. some church goers are planning overnight vigils until the girls are found. >> i am a father, i have children. i have a son. if i put myself in the shoes of the parents, it's terriblement. >> these protesters if washington d.c. accused the nij herian government of mishandling the rescue effort. people have protested in london. there's a drive under the hash tag bring back our girls. >> we are urging the naming earian government to do more. they need to be found and returned to their families. >> public anger is fuelled by conflicting figures. the anger is as high as it is because schools have been attacked before. in february '59 students were killed. that's despite billions spent on fighting the group. >> meanwhile the military insists there's an ongoing operation to free the girls. i asked when the president hall committee is expected to report back. despite

let's get more with our editor of the bbc housing service who joining us from the nigerian capital abuja. that massacre last week, 300 dead then. what has happened today? >> today we had reports of explosions near the border of nigeria. witnesses said early in the morning they had the explosion. they are not sure what these are. they're terrified to go out because of what happened last week. there was an attack in the village 12 kilometers. last night the gunmen went in the village and raced down the whole village. all they can see is one or two houses remaining. luckily he said most the people from the village ran away when they heard the gunmen approaching. the gunmen killed two people in the village. >> what about protection for these people here? when the school was raided three to four weeks ago and girls were abducted there was criticism the fact that the army was never to be seen. >> indeed. people are complaining despite the emergency in this area, they cannot see military personnel roaming act. these areas they complain roots taken by the militants. they're calling on government

france and other international partners in abuja to coordinate multilateral actions. our intent is to support nigerian led efforts to safely recover the girls and help catalyze greater efforts to secure the population of nigeria from the menace of boko haram. to be clear immediate and long-term solutions to boko haram must be developed and implemented by the sovereign government of nigeria ipsis gained securities to be achieved. accident in its current form since 2009 the boko haram thread has run for the past several years extending its geographic reach and increasing the sophistication and lethality of attacks. along with other u.s. departments and agencies dod has been engaging for some time with the government of nigeria to help build its capacity to respond. beginning in january 2011 we have used the state department led u.s. nigeria bi-national commission is our principle forum to tackle the challenge and enhancing counterinsurgency efforts while developing a civilian centered approach to security that is comprehensive engaging in law enforcement border security

at the holy rosary in abuja. >> it's important to pray for girls. after exploring all options, the government is trying to make attempts to rescue the girls, we also need to go through ritual. >> the nigerian catholic church has asked, all nigerians irrespective of their faith, to pray. worshipers have been praying for girls after every scripture class. the governor out of the predominantly muslim state called for three days of fasting. >> this has brought a sense of unity, solidarity, togetherness regardless of people's faith, people's tribe and people's peos geographical position. >> technical and law enforcement experts from the united states and britain to assist nigerian authorities. but they need to keep the pressure going. they want to make sure the government does not relent until the search and rescue can efforts final credit gain results. >> a car bomb went off around lunch time bringing down the building. a civilian cook was killed and 15 people were injured. police say the bomber argued with officers to attract more victims before detona