18/05/2014 Reporters

the missing schoolgirls and the Boko Haram Insurgency.

Welcome to this special edition of Reporters. I'm here in the Nigerian

capital. As the world waits for the news of the schoolgirls kidnapped by

Islamist militants, we have a range of reports from our correspondents.

In this week's programme: The search for the missing children ` John

Simpson travels to the state where the girls were abducted. He finds

growing anger against the Nigerian authorities. This is extraordinary.

The governor, and the rest of us, are being thrown out of here by the

anger of the crowd. How safe are Nigeria's schools? Mark Doyle speaks

to teachers and schoolchildren, living in fear of the militants.

They make me frightened. I'm scared. Nigeria's war against Boko Haram `

Gordon Corera investigates the group behind the abductions, who've waged

a bloody campaign of violence across Nigeria. And bring back our girls `

we speak to mothers of the abducted girls who are going through every

parent's nightmare. When I think of her I feel a deep pain inside. I

pray for her, hoping God will answer.

It's a month since Islamist militants abducted more than 200

girls from a school in north east Nigeria. It's an act that sparked

outrage and condemnation across the globe. The authorities say all

options are being considered to free them. Nigeria's President has said

there is no question of swopping any of the girls for prisoners of the

insurgency, held by the government. John Simpson travelled to Boko Haram

territory and found growing anger against the Nigerian authorities.

136 girls, most Christian until a month ago, obediently chant the

first part of the Koran. If you look closely, not all of them are

chanting. It's the first sighting of them, yet more than half of the 270

girls kidnapped aren't here. Whether because they refused to convert, or

for some other reason, we don't know. One of the girls is led to the

front of the group and told to give a Muslim name, rather than her

Christian one. She's clearly frightened. In the video, Boko

Haram's leader ` said to be flamboyant and mocking ` launches

into a long speech. These girls you're so concerned with, we've

liberated them. They're Muslims. They're staying with us. This man is

desperate for news. He's made the dangerous journey from where they

were kidnapped to here. No fewer than six of his relatives were

kidnapped ` sisters, nieces, cousins... He can't spot them in the

video. This must be shocking for you to see? One of the most shocking

moments ever. This is inhumane. It's not correct. It's unfair. There is

no reason for them to impose religion on them. Everyone has the

right to choose. This whole part of Nigeria is Boko Haram territory. To

get round it you need lots of firepower. We had 40 official

vehicles, packed with armed men, to guard us. We're going with the local

governor, heading to the scene of one of the worst attacks. It

happened last week but was scarcely reported, even in Nigeria. This is

hostile territory. The road we're on would normally be very busy. It's

almost empty because no`one wants to drive along here after the attacks.

Villages are deserted, because people are scared. After a couple of

hours, we reach a small town. The bridge was blown up last Wednesday.

But two days earlier, this place was hit by an army of Boko Haram men.

They arrived at 1:30pm. We counted hundreds of burned out cars. Boko

Haram didn't want anyone following them afterwards. They massacred 375

people. Almost unnoticed in the outside world. The town centre was

simply destroyed. The sheer scale of the destruction is extraordinary. I

didn't expect this. All the attention around the world has been

on the abduction of the schoolgirls, but this is going on all the time in

this part of Nigeria. The governor came here to offer help and money,

but the survivors are working themselves up into a frenzy of

anger. They're angry that the government is doing so little. They

have let us down. The crowd is getting angry... We are going to

compensate them. We will talk to the President. Are you frightened? No. I

have gone through situations like this. But there was no calming them.

The governor was lucky to get away unhurt. This is extraordinary. The

governor, and the rest of us, are being thrown out of here by the

anger of the crowd. We're having to get back to our cars pretty quickly.

All this anger isn't surprising. People here feel utterly abandoned.

They can't understand why a world that cares so much about the missing

schoolgirls seems to care so little about the destruction of an entire

town. The capture of the schoolgirls has

raised questions about the security of children in Nigerian schools.

Mark Doyle has been to a government school to hear how children and

teachers feel about their safety. It's become every schoolchild's

nightmare ` even here in the Nigerian capital, the children's

thoughts are with their kidnapped colleagues. I feel terrible. They

are like me. No`one knows how they are. Boko Haram are wicked. They

make me frightened. I'm scared. I don't know how they are. I pray for

them, so God protects them. Nigeria is a very big country and schools

like this are part of the reality too. The mass kidnapping has served

to highlight the vicious war taking place between Boko Haram and the

Nigerian government. But Boko Haram have attacked targets here as well.

The head of the school follows the government's security advice ` with

walls and fencing around her charges. The schools are fenced now.

They have security, to check in and check out. The boarding school

attacked in the north east would have needed more than good fencing.

It's a war zone. Boko Haram means 'Western education is a sin'. And

the leader of the Nigerian Union of Teachers says over 170 of his

members have been killed by the group. These people come from

nowhere and shoot. Teachers are a target because they're educators.

These people don't want that. They want Arabic education. They are a

target. Enemy number one. So it's come to this. Parts of Nigeria are

not safe for schoolchildren or their teachers.

The the girls has sparked worldwide interest and a campaign to free

them. It is also focused on the world's attention on Boko Haram. As

Nigeria marks the first anniversary of the state of emergency against

Boko Haram, Gordon Corera investigates the Islamist group.

More than 100 Nigerian schoolgirls seen this week for the first time

since their abduction. The latest incident in a growing campaign of

violence by one group. Who are Boko Haram? This man took on the

leadership of Boco RAM in 2009 `` Boko Haram, steadily increasing the

use of violence. The founder of Boko Haram aims to create an Islamic

state in the north of the country. The name of the group loosely

translates as Western education is forbidden, opposing outside

influences. Boko Haram has always been looked at as basically a

domestic terrorist group, one whose aims were largely focused on

upsetting and undermining the Nigerian state.

Starting off with Lone gunmen assassinated and officials, they

have now evolved, killing thousands in recent years. Tactics employed by

the Government have not been very effective. I think the group has

become more emboldened, more sophisticated. The girls were taken

from the town of Chibok in the Boko Haram stronghold. For them past year

there has been emergency rule in three states to cope with the

threat. This is a region where people feel earlier netted from the

capital and the federal government. Boko Haram draws local support on

the ground from those in poverty and lacking education. They also have

ample funding. At present they have a diversify the funding pool. They

are involved in a number of criminal activities, such as bank robbery,

car snatching and possibly drugs. They kidnap individuals for the

purpose of extortion. They are possibly getting some support from

local business people and possibly northern politicians. And they are

also getting some funding elsewhere. Estimated numbers of fighters range

from the hundreds to the thousands. The group so far has been primarily

focused on Nigeria, but it's threat has been growing?

There are fears among Nigerians `` Nigeria's North African neighbours

that Boko Haram will spread across its borders. Over 50,000 people are

reported to have fled to Niger to flee the violence. The insurgents

may be paying to recruit fighters from Niger. In the Sahara, a

sandstorm. At least it feels safer here. These Nigerian refugees were

pushed across the border into Nigeria after Islamist militants

from Boko Haram raided their village. On Lake Chad, Nigerians are

fleeing by boat. The UN estimates 500 cross into Niger every week.

This man arrived last month with his two wives and six children.

TRANSLATION: I was going to bed when we heard the first gunshots, when we

rent to escape, the little girl was shot as she fled her burning

Hauritz. `` house. It is a growing refugee crisis but without camps.

The authorities say they could become recruitment centres for Boko

Haram. Boko Haram have shown they can hit the Nigerian state in

different ways. Bomb attacks, raiding villages, abduction of

children. For now, Nigeria's neighbours are only dealing with the

consequences of this violence. But the prospect of the same violence

spilling over is becoming more of a question of not if, but when they

may strike you. Niger's security forces patrol the border. Dozens of

men suspected of links with Boko Haram have been arrested. We have

made contact with the local gang whose members claim they are

collaborating with Boko Haram. They have agreed to talk to us but they

`` but we cannot show their faces. The gang members are in their early

20s. Five of their group have joined the Nigerian militants. Two have

been killed on operations. TRANSLATION: Some of us give them

information about what is going on. They come to us and we informed

them. If they tell you to launch an attack, would you be ready? Yes,

we're ready. We have no jobs, so we are ready. That is what we are here

for. Boko Haram have paid them ?2000 to join their insurgency. It is the

cash they want. They have no interest in defending Sharia law.

Drought and hunger have made communities in Niger vulnerable.

Clues and rebellions have made it on stable. It's fragile state is now

threatened by the crisis next door are fuelled by poverty and neglect.

Both conditions exist here. Nowhere in the north`east of Nigeria

is safe from Boko Haram these days. It is also carried out attacks in

distant cities such as Abuja `` Abuja, and one of the worst a couple

of years ago in Canada were 185 people were killed. `` Cano. This is

what Cano is known for. Its trade in textiles has made it a major

commercial hub. Now the state is it has had for centuries has been

threatened by the surge in violence in recent years. The bloodshed has

mostly been in other parts of the North. Business year has dipped

since an attack two years ago. Since January 2012, our business has gone

down. Our customers are afraid to come here. It is not possible they

cross the border into Nigeria because some of them... Now it is

very difficult. This may not be under a state of emergency, but the

spill`over effects of the violence in the north`east of the country are

clearly being felt here. The city has suffered its own violence, and

that has prompted widespread caution in this centre of commercial

activity. This group, made up mostly of volunteers, is part of a

neighbourhood watch organisation. This unit has become part of the

fight against Boko Haram. They may not have the firepower but they are

armed with information that the police and army would not ordinarily

have. We help them in terms of information gathering. So through

this insurgency that has come to Cano, we give vital information so

we can curtail the issues here. We are assisting greatly. After some

time Boko Haram has come to realise that we are assisting police. They

killed about ten of our members. We cannot relent our efforts. Well

cities like this are able to pick up the pieces, there is no song and

dance in the worst affected areas. Boko Haram's violent campaign has

brought grief too many, and it could result in more. The schoolgirl

abductions are every parent's worst nightmare. The mothers and fathers

have felt powerless and have also accused the Government of doing

nothing to secure the release of the girls. Will Ross has been speaking

exclusively to some of them. The protests keep coming, this one in a

coastal city. The message is the same. The BBC has secured the first

ever TV interviews with the mothers in Chibok. They are in agony.

Since they were taken away it has been very difficult. Many people

come to our house during the day to sympathise. But then at night our

family stays awake all night, thinking of our daughter and all the

other girls and what they are going through, and where they are being

held. It is ready difficult for us. When my daughter was leaving for

school, she told me she would come back soon. I get the Fairford

transport and we said goodbye. She promised to come back soon and me

with my work. But then I was told that she had been abducted. Since

our children were abducted, life has been very difficult. We hardly sleep

well. In fact, I am suffering from high blood pressure. We hardly eat

because of this situation. Nigeria's president has been accused

of not doing enough to rescue the girls.

Seeing as the president admitted that the abducted girls have not

even been located that anon rescued, the demonstrations within

and without Nigeria are not expected to die down. The international

outrage is growing stronger. Beyond putting pressure on the Government

to talk about the missing girls, there is no evidence to suggest the

parents are any closer to getting their daughters back on. My daughter

is a very obedient child. She is always eager to learn. That is why I

feel a deep pain inside me. We only play `` pray day and night, hoping

that God will answer our prayers. That is all we can do. The mothers

of the missing girls have already been on the streets. They say nobody

has said a word to them about rescue efforts. Maybe that is why they put

their faith in God rather than government.

That is all for this special edition of Reporters this week.

Goodbye for now. Good evening. Lots of warm sunshine

this weekend across England and Wales. There is some more to take us

into the new week. Warm