Nigeria's National Council of State is promising to deliver "some good news" very soon about more than 200 schoolgirls held captive by Islamic extremists for nearly three months, The Associated Press reported.
The council, made up of past presidents, state governors and leaders of parliament, is "satisfied the security agents know very well where the girls are located," Gov. Godwill Akpabio told reporters at a briefing, according to the AP.
The rescue of the girls was top of the agenda at the meeting Tuesday, he said, and "military authorities also confirmed that efforts were being made and that very soon we will have good news," the AP reported.
Boko Haram are believed to have divided the girls into smaller groups being held at different camps and possibly across borders in Cameroon and Chad, where sightings have been reported, according to the AP. There also have been reports that some of them have been forced to marry their captors.
The governor added the question is not whether the girls can be rescued but how to do it without endangering their lives, according to the AP. He said the council, which was addressed by President Goodluck Jonathan and his national security advisers, was left confident that the president and the military are "on top of the situation."
Tuesday's council commended Nigeria's military and security agents, who have been roundly criticized at home and abroad for their failure to swiftly rescue the girls and to curb an escalating Islamic uprising by Boko Haram that has killed thousands, the AP reported. Some 276 schoolgirls were abducted April 15 from a school in northeast Chibok town. Dozens escaped and 219 still are missing.
Last week the Defense Ministry reported the detention of a businessman heading a "terrorists' intelligence cell" who it said "participated actively" in the Chibok abductions, according to the AP.
Negotiations to free the girls without a fight appear to have stalled, with Boko Haram demanding the release of detained extremists in exchange for the girls, the AP reported. Jonathan has rejected those demands.
