One Year Anniversary Marks Kidnapping of Nigerian Schoolgirls by Boko Haram

On the one year anniversary of their kidnapping, activists in Nigeria continue to call for the safe return of hundreds of schoolgirls taken by Boko Haram, while the country's president recently said that he does not know if the girls will ever be rescued.

April 14 and April 15 marks the one year anniversary that over 280 schoolgirls, many of them Christian, were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from their school in Chibok. While dozens of the girls managed to escape their captors, 218 remain missing as mourning parents and activists mark the one year anniversary of their disappearance.

Nigeria's former President Goodluck Jonathan had vowed a swift recovery of the missing schoolgirls, but current President-elect Muhammadu Buhari recently said that he is unsure if the girls will ever be found.

"We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown," Buhari said in a statement on the anniversary of the disappearance. "As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them."

"We hear the anguish of our citizens and intend to respond accordingly," Buhari's statement said. "This new approach must also begin with honesty."

"This crime has rightly caused outrage both in Nigeria and across the world," Buhari added. "Today is a time to reflect on the pain and suffering of the victims, their friends and families. Our thoughts and prayers, and that of the whole Nigerian nation, are with you today."

Activists around the world have continued to speak out for the girls with the hope that they will be found. Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousafzai sent a message to the girls on the anniversary of their kidnapping, saying she keeps them in her "thoughts and prayers."