Nigerian activists have pledged to pile more pressure on the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to secure the release of nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram Takfiris in April.

Hadiza Bala Usman, the coordinator of the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, expressed regret over the lack of progress in efforts to release the kidnapped schoolgirls, stressing, “Progress for us is the girls being returned, and the girls are not returned.”

“We shall upscale our advocacy and work towards ensuring that this issue on the ground is priority for the Nigerian government until they are rescued,” added the activist.
On April 14, Takfiri Boko Haram militants kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok. Reports say 57 of the girls managed to escape but 219 are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have failed so far.

Nigerians have been holding almost daily protests since the girls were kidnapped, demanding their release.

Relatives and supporters of the kidnapped schoolgirls have criticized the Nigerian president over its handling of the abduction case.

Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria’s opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) slammed Abuja over its failure to curb the rising violence in the country, describing the Jonathan government as “weak” and “inept.”

Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. The Takfiri group has been responsible for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.

Jonathan has ordered a full-scale military operation against the Takfiri group, pledging to use all available means to ward off the threat of terrorism.

Over the past four years, violence has killed more than 3,500 people in North Africa’s most populous country.