Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday held his first meeting with campaigners calling for the release of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants in the northeastern town of Chibok last year.

The militant Islamist group, whose six-year insurgency has seen thousands killed in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, caused an international outcry when it took the girls from secondary school dormitories in April 2014.

Buhari praised members of the Bring Back Our Girls group for their efforts to prevent the missing children being forgotten.

"Nobody in Nigeria or outside could have missed your consistency and persistence," said Buhari during the meeting at his presidential villa in the capital, Abuja. (Read Burhari Speech)

"I think you will agree that the present government takes the issue very seriously," he said, adding that the military was working with neighbouring countries to ensure a regional task force could fight the Read more.


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