Goodluck Jonathan in missing girls plea

President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted that Nigerian security forces still do not know where more than 200 abducted girls are being held. 

They were taken three weeks ago from their school in Borno state by suspected Islamist militants.

President Jonathan was speaking for the first time since their disappearance amid growing criticism of the response.

He has come under fire for not speaking earlier and his government has faced increasing anger from the public.

"We promise that anywhere the girls are, we will surely get them out," he said in a live TV broadcast.

The president said that despite searches by the army and the air force, the girls had not been found.

He asked for the co-operation of parents and the local communities in the rescue efforts, saying the "government needs assistance."

"It is a trying time for this country... it is painful," he added.