Shekau described the abduction as part of Boko Haram’s war against Western-style secular education in Nigeria, which has seen the group attack dozens of schools in the predominantly Muslim north. “I said Western education should end,” he added. “Girls, you should go and get married.”
Woman holding signs take part in a protest demanding the release of abducted secondary school girls from the remote village of Chibok, Nigeria (Akintunde Akinleye/ Reuters)
The release of the tape comes as a major security operation gets underway in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, ahead of a World Economic Forum conference that starts on Wednesday. Last week, a car bomb attack blamed on Boko Haram killed 19 people in the city.
With the plight of the missing schoolgirls now likely to play high on the agenda of the conference, Mr Jonathan said over the weekend that he had reached out to the US, Britain, France and China for help on security issues.
While he did not specify what help he had sought, it is thought he may have discussed whether satellite or drone technology could be used in the hunt for the girls. Britain has said it is happy to provide “practical assistance” if necessary.
One satellite technology expert, who asked not to be named, outlined to The Telegraph yesterday how such technology might be of use.
“Both the Americans and and the French have satellite systems that could be used to provide photography, although it would be something of a needle in a haystack job,” he said.
“The other option is using unmanned aerial vehicles, which can circle areas repeatedly and build up patterns of activity. They might spot, for example, that a particular farmhouse has suddenly got lots of vehicles that weren’t there before - or that those same vehicles have moved elsewhere.”
A screen grab from a video obtained by AFP showing the leader of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau (C) delivering a speech (Getty)
Drone photography would also be able to tell whether the vehicles were mounted with machine guns - a common tactic of Boko Haram mobile convoys. Drones can also operate from a height of 25,000 feet or more, making them hard for the militants to spot.
The expert said the main issue would be availability, given the continued use of drones in Afghanistan, and likely current demand for satellite scrutiny of Russian troop movements along the border of Ukraine.
“If they were going to be of use, they would probably make them available quite quickly, but it’s a question of whether they have the assets free,” he said.
The Nigerian government has been accused of responding quickly enough to the crisis. Last night, the leader of a protest march for the missing schoolgirls accused Mr Jonathan’s wife of ordering her arrest. Saratu Angus Ndirpaya, who was held by state security police in Abuja, said that Patience Jonathan had accused her and a colleague of trying to use the crisis to discredit her husband’s government.
International attention on the plight of the missing girls was initially slow but has grown quickly in recent days, in part because of a social media campaign – #bringbackourgirls.
US Secretary of State John Kerry vowed Saturday that Washington would do "everything possible" to help Nigeria deal with Boko Haram militants and bring the children home.
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