HIGHLIGHTS OF THE VIDEO
- Video released by terror cell to provide 'proof of life' to Nigerian authorities
- At least 15 girls are recorded stating their names and where they are from
- Show no visible signs of injury or maltreatment and do not look starved
- Recording shown to the girls' parents who break down upon watching
- 276 pupils stolen from Chibok Government Secondary School in April 2014
Video has surfaced showing at least 15 of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants two years ago pleading for their freedom.
Filmed standing against a brick
wall, the young women - taken by the terror group from the beds of their school
dormitory in 2014 - were recorded to provide 'proof of life' in a clip sent to
negotiators by their captors.
The video is believed to have been
made in December and is being used as collateral in discussions between the
African nation's government and the extremist cell.
In it, the girls - all dressed in
full length, black robes - state their names, their school and where they are
from.
They show no visible signs of injury
or maltreatment and do not look starved.
The video was obtained by CNN who played it to the mothers of several of the
missing girls.
In heartbreaking scenes, the women can be seen collapsing in tears as they recognise all of the pupils lined up in the recording.
For some, their daughters are
pictured. For others, their girls are not seen.
Rifkatu Ayuba is one of the mothers
whose 17-year-old was shown in the clip.
Upon seeing her, she wails 'My
Saratu!' as she reaches desperately to grab a hold of the computer.
Ms Ayuba said: 'I felt like removing
her from the screen. If I could, I would have removed her from the screen.'
Nigerian militants took 276 girls,
mostly Christian, from their dormitory at Chibok Government Secondary
School in their April 14, 2014, night raid.
They were stolen from their beds at
gun point.
Only a small dozen managed to
escape, recounting the horrors of the kidnap to their families and the
authorities.
Those taken have never been seen
since, with no solid indication as to their whereabouts having yet been
established.
The video clip - until now only seen
by Nigerian Government officials and hostage negotiators - ends with one of the
girls, Naomi Zakaria, making a scripted appeal begging for the country's
authorities to help get the group back to their families.
She said: 'I am speaking on 25
December 2015, on behalf of the all the Chibok girls and we are all well.'
A lack of progress in tracing the
girls has led to protests in Nigeria and across the world, with high profile
backers including Michelle Obama and Malala Yousafzai joining the
#BringBackOurGirls social media campaign launched on the back of their
kidnapping.
Boko Haram is an Islamic terrorist
group based in north eastern Nigeria. It is also active in Chad, Niger and
northern Cameroon.
They previously had links to al
Qaeda but in March 2015 announced they are now allies of the Islamic State.
Email:cknnews1@gmail.com
Twitter: @CKNNigeria
Facebook: CKNNigeria
CKN NEWS Hotline: 08080054001
Whatsapp: 08099677755
BBM : 2BE329DF
Website: www.cknnigeria.com
Tags
Society