Nigeria's President Pledges to Free Kidnapped Girls
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan promised to find more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by rebels, as the hostage crisis overshadowed his opening address to a conference designed to showcase investment opportunities in Africa's biggest economy.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the capital Abuja, Jonathan thanked foreign nations for their support in trying to rescue the girls, who were kidnapped from a secondary school on April 14 by Boko Haram.
He also praised delegates for coming despite the danger posed by the militants, then quickly moved on to a speech about creating jobs in African economies.
"As a nation we are facing attack from terrorism," Jonathan told delegates. "I believe that the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end of terrorism in Nigeria."
Despite such promises, Jonathan admitted on national television this week that he had no idea where the girls were, Reuters reported.
The kidnappings and numerous other attacks by Boko Haram militants have overshadowed Nigeria's hosting of the forum, an annual gathering of the rich and powerful that replicates the one in Davos, Switzerland.
Security for the event was tight. Police and military trucks blocked off all roads leading to the Abuja Transcorp Hilton hotel, where the event was based. Soldiers patrolled the hotel's grounds and the perimeter with automatic weapons.
Parents of the kidnapped girls said troops had arrived in Chibok on a mission to find the girls.
