Amid mounting international pressure , Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan spoke Sunday about his government 's efforts to rescue more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by militants . `` Wherever these girls are , we 'll get them out , '' he said , acknowledging that officials do n't know where they are . The President criticized the girls ' parents for not cooperating fully with police . `` What we request is maximum cooperation from the guardians and the parents of these girls . Because up to this time , they have not been able to come clearly , to give the police clear identity of the girls that have yet to return , '' he said . Protesters took to the streets over the weekend . On Sunday , about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the Nigerian High Commission in London again , where they chanted `` Bring them back ! '' as well as `` Not for sale ! '' and `` African lives matter ! '' The mainly female crowd , from young girls to older women , also carried banners that read `` These are our sisters '' and `` No child born to be taken . '' `` It 's very important that everyone do something , '' London teacher Leyla Chery , who attended the demonstration with her 8-year-old daughter , told CNN . `` We have ways to find the girls , but we have n't done enough and the government in Nigeria has n't done enough . So we should definitely try to push them . I talk to my students in class about the girls . '' Crowds from Los Angeles to London rallied on Saturday , carrying posters reading # BringBackOurGirls -- a campaign that began on Twitter after the mass abduction of the girls by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram last month . In Washington , protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to denounce what they described as a poor response by the Nigerian government to rescue the girls . The social media campaign has gained momentum with celebrities , such as singer Mary J. Blige , offering their support . Education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai , the Pakistani schoolgirl who made a miraculous recovery after being shot in the head by the Taliban , posed in a picture with the # BringBackOurGirls poster . On Saturday , U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Nigeria 's President to step up efforts to find the girls , who were kidnapped April 14 from a school in Chibok , in the country 's rural northeast . Boko Haram : A bloody insurgency , a growing challenge . Anger has been mounting in Nigeria over the lack of information about what efforts are under way to secure the girls ' release . Many contend authorities are not doing enough and have taken to social media using hashtags # BringBackOurGirls and # BringBackOurDaughters to demand more from the government , a move that appears to have ignited a global call for action . Nigeria 's Defense Ministry has said it is committed to the search . In London , Matilda Egere-Cooper , one of the organizers of Sunday 's protest , said she wanted to raise awareness about the `` disastrous '' situation in Nigeria . `` I think its so important that the Nigerian government do a lot more in finding these women , '' Egere-Cooper , herself of Nigerian origin , told CNN . `` We are here today to lend our support in making sure that the girls are returned to their family . We also want to bring attention to women being in the center of various conflicts , wars that are happening around the world . We do n't think it 's right . '' Speaking during a visit to the Ethiopian capital , Addis Ababa , Kerry called on the government to bring those responsible to justice . `` The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime , and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice , '' he said . Boko Haram 's name translates to `` Western education is a sin , '' and the group especially opposes the education of women . Under its version of Sharia law , women should be at home raising children and looking after their husbands , not at school learning to read and write . According to accounts , armed members of Boko Haram overwhelmed security guards at the all-girls school in Chibok , pulled the girls out of bed and forced them into trucks . The convoy of trucks then disappeared into the dense forest bordering Cameroon . On Friday , Nigerian authorities updated the number of girls kidnapped to 276 . At least 53 of the girls escaped , leaving 223 in the hands of their captors , police said . Authorities said that the new figure for missing girls -- 223 -- could grow as police fill in spotty school enrollment records . Why terror group kidnaps schoolgirls , and what happens next .
the Nigerian High Commission criticizes the girls ' parents for not cooperating fully with police . Protesters take to streets in Nigeria again calling for the release of schoolgirls . Rallies were held around the world Friday , mounting pressure on London to do more . A total of one schoolgirls were abducted , many still in the hands of captors .