Nigerian Defense Chief: We Know Where the Abducted Girls Are

Air Marshal Alex Badeh, Nigeria’s chief of defense, announced on Monday that they have located the almost 300 young girls kidnapped by Boko Haram and that they can save the girls but cautioned, “We can’t go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.”

Badeh made this announcement in front of thousands of protesters in front of the Defense Ministry Headquarters, but did not say anything specific about where the girls are located, he just warned those assembled that going in with force would be a poor strategy for getting the girls back. There was a reported deal to exchange the kidnapped girls for Boko Haram members detained by the Nigerian government, but President Goodluck Jonathan called it off, one human rights activist said.

There has been a huge international social media campaign rallying around the abducted girls (who were shown off in a harrowing video by Boko Haram), with plenty of political leaders and celebrities using the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. And while there’s been somewhat of a positive consensus about the social media campaign, some American conservatives have panned it as an exercise in feel-good hashtag activism.

[image via Gary Cameron/Reuters]

— —

Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!