Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is promising to secure the release of more than 200 girls who were kidnapped by Islamist separatists in the northeast of the country.  It’s the first time Jonathan has spoken publicly on the matter.

Nigerians had been increasingly dismayed and angered by Goodluck Jonathan’s failure to address the mass abduction after three weeks, as well as a general lack of trustworthy information about it.  Since 14 April, authorities have steadily upped the number of girls believed to have been abducted.  Last week, they updated the number of girls kidnapped to 276.  At least 53 of the girls escaped, leaving 223 in the hands of their captors.

“Wherever these girls are, we’ll get them out,” said President Jonathan in a televised discussion with friendly reporters.  He acknowledged that officials don’t even know the girls’ locations.  But he criticized their parents for allegedly not cooperating fully with police.

“What we request is maximum cooperation from the guardians and the parents of these girls.  Because up to this time, they have not been able to come clearly, to give the police clear identity of the girls that have yet to return,” he added.

It’s believed that the girls were abducted by Boko Haram guerillas, who want to establish their own Islamist state in Nigeria’s northeast.