US questions Nigeria's claim on abducted schoolgirls

The United States said on Tuesday it did not have independent information to confirm Nigeria’s claim to know the whereabouts of more than 200 abducted schoolgirls and questioned the wisdom of making public such information.

“We don’t have independent information from the United States to support these reports you referenced,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said when asked about Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh’s statement that the military knew where the abducted girls were.

“We, as a matter of policy and for the girls’ safety and wellbeing, would not discuss publicly this sort of information regardless.”