The State Department is financing a new 24-hour satellite television channel in the turbulent northern region of Nigeria that U.S. officials say is crucial to countering the extremism of radical groups such as Boko Haram. The move signals a ramping up of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts to directly challenge the terrorist group, which abducted nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls in April.

Social media campaigns (such as Kony2012) are frequently dismissed as superficial and a displacement for real engagement – labelled "slacktivism". Yet, despite some difficulties, #BringBackOurGirls does appear to be a case where the worldwide outcry voiced through Twitter has had a genuine impact and promoted meaningful action. It has put the story into the mainstream, largely because it is now framed as a simple humanitarian drama – "horrible terrorists snatch innocent girls".

Three historical events have hindered Nigeria's brand building effort, said Mr. Ben Bruce, Chairman of Silverbird Group.

The scale and audacity of this attack makes it especially shocking, and the case has triggered an extraordinary outpouring of indignation across the globe -- on a scale that isn't necessarily typical in cases involving violence against women. As FP commentator Lauren Wolfe observed in her recent article, women are often abducted in conflicts around the world without generating much of an international reaction. And as theNew York Times recently pointed out, Boko Haram's ransom videosuggests that the group itself has been surprised by the degree of global outrage.

The hope of the #BringBackOurGirls protesters in Abuja that President Goodluck Jonathan would address them on Thursday was dashed as police officers formed a human barrier around the Eagles Square forcing the protesters to end their march there.The protesters, who were supposed to march from Unity Fountain, near Transcorp Hotel, Maitama, to the Presidential Villa could not get to their destination as police officers blocked all roads leading to the villa.

‘Art is committed to telling truths, even if unpalatable. This can make life uncomfortable for governments’. Abraham Oghobase is a Nigerian photographer in his mid-thirties whose witty and original pictures are gaining him an international reputation. His work is based on the documentary tradition, but it is given a distancing quality by the artist’s own presence in the photograph. This combination of reportage and performance art, while not unique, compellingly adds layers of complication to otherwise straightforward depictions of the socio-economic tensions of his homeland.

When Nigerian Islamic militant group Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 girls in Chibok, it galvanized world opinion and inspired one of the biggest social media campaigns ever – #BringBackOurGirls.

French President Francois Hollande is set to host security summit in Paris , a month after over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls from Chibok were abducted by Islamist militants Boko Haram.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will also attend the talks and address security threats the country face from militant groups including Boko Haram and strategies to tackle with them.