Boko Haram Abduction: President Goodkuck Jonathan Accepts US Help

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted US President Barack Obama's offer to send American intelligence to Nigeria to help locate more than 200 girls abducted by Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told Jonathan in a telephone conversation that US is willing to deploy security personnel and assets to take part in the search and rescue operation.

Kerry added the US is fully committed to giving Nigeria the necessary support to bring the reign of terror of Boko Haram to an end.

The US offer came as the militants were reported to have killed hundreds of people in fresh attacks in Borno State.

Jonathan welcomed the assistance offered by the US.

He added that Nigeria's security agencies were already working at full capacity to find and rescue the abducted girls.

The welcome of foreign aid comes as protests were held in Nigerian capital Abuja, where hundreds of civilians, including the parents of the abducted girls criticised the Nigerian government for not doing enough to save the victims.

Boko Haram, which opposes the westernisation of Nigeria and tries to impose sharia law in the country, kidnapped nearly 300 girls on 14 April.

About 50 of them managed to escape, but some 220 are still missing.

The girls, who were abducted while in school, are being allegedly sold as brides to militiamen and smuggled to neighbour countries Chad and Cameroon.

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, released a video in which he said the girls would be sold in the market place as willed by Allah.

"I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah ... Allah has instructed me to sell them. They are his property and I will carry out his instructions".

Shortly after the release of the video, the militants are believed to have abducted eight more girls in Warabe, northern Nigeria.