on the 14th of April ago insurgent group Boko Haram abducted 219 schoolgirls in
Chibok, Borno State, Northeast of Nigeria. The schoolgirls were writing their exams in
a public government secondary school.

In the first days after the abduction, 57 of the girls managed to escape from their
captors.
The mass abduction caught the attention of the international media, prompting
prominent politicians and celebrities to publicly condemn the abduction.

Thousands of people joined the Twitter campaign #BringBackourGirls to raise
awareness of the issue while countries such as the Britain, France and the US were
billed to join Nigerian troops in the search, none really did.

When other countries did start to help, they didn't get very far. The U.S. sent 80
troops in late May to coordinate an aerial search from neighboring Chad. Canada,
France, Israel and the U.K. also sent special forces to Nigeria. But six weeks later, the
Pentagon press secretary announced that the U.S. mission would be scaled back,
saying: "We don't have any better idea today than we did before about where these
girls are."

Residents in Chibok and many parts of the Northeast face the unrelenting threat of
an attack by militants despite renewed military offensive.
Up to ten parents of the kidnapped girls have died of pressure induced illness.
Since April, Boko Haram claims to have taken over at least five towns in northeastern
Nigeria, although the military says it has won some of these back.

The militant group has also kidnapped at least three more smaller groups of girls as
well as dozens of boys and young men, some of whom were later rescued.
More than 2,100 people are reported to have been killed by Boko Haram since April
14, according to data from the Council on Foreign Relations. And during a span of 10
days in August, some 10,000 people were displaced by fighting in northeastern
Nigeria.

Nigeria's military appears ill-equipped to deal with the challenge. Complaining of a
lack of weapons, at least 40 Nigerian soldiers reportedly refused orders to fight Boko
Haram in August. However the military has scored few points including it's killing of
Bashir, a Shekau imposter.
Although Shekau appeared in a new video, the Nigerian Military insists they have
killed the real Shekau
As the countdown towards the end of the year is barely two months, and general
elections due in february in the West African nation, the question is will the Chibok
girls be found before December.

Question for boko haram members and sponsors