Daughter's welfare worries me - abducted girl's dad

Cape Town – The father of one of the kidnapped schoolgirls says he was happy to see his daughter alive in a video released by Boko Hara, but was worried about her welfare. According to The Guardian, Lawan Zanna spotted his daughter in the footage and was concerned about whether she would return home safely. Zanna said his daughter looked "stiff", a sign she was not being treated well by the terror group. In the video obtained by AFP, the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, speaks for 17 minutes before showing about 130 girls in black and grey full-length hijabs sitting on scrubland near trees, reciting the first chapter of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, and holding their palms upwards in prayer. A total of 276 girls were abducted on 14 April from the north-eastern town of Chibok in Borno state, which has a sizeable Christian community. At least 223 are still missing. Shekau said the girls could be released once the government freed all the Boko Haram prisoners it has in custody. But President Goodluck Jonathan has ruled out freeing Boko Haram prisoners in exchange for the children's release. Meanwhile, an AFP reportsays the US military is flying surveillance drones as well as manned aircraft over Nigeria to help the search for the girls.