nigeria used to be very democratic.it's not perfect, but there is a lot of discussion and disagreement i lived in nigerian i happen to think that good goodluck jonathan gets less credit than . they have gone in to cameroon. they took the cameroonian air force to dislodge them. but the thing that frightens me you go 200 miles you're in central africa republic which has turned out to be a religious war between muslims and christians, and the muslim communities are radicalized. they are armed because they have been abused. it scares me to think that one day we'll wake up to think that boko haram has linked up to them and with somalia not far away, we know that boko haram would be readily accepted in mali. i think that the international community needs to take it as seriously as it takes isis, and the problem in iraq. when the iraqi government proved that it could not really handle it, they stepped in. they didn't say, well, we'll wait until you get your act together. i think that the international community is shortchangin

-nigeria relationship, nigeria, the most populous african country, and how boko haram has gained strengthre? >> nigeria is by far the most dynamic force in africa. and what everyone fears at the moment is the mobilization of the nigerian people as the people mobilized in egypt or the people mobilized to remove corrupt elements. there is a merger of forces of exportation in nigeria. malicious are being used against the people -- deliciousmilitias are being used against the people. 40% of the oil wealth from nigeria is siphoned off by the political class. boko haram struggle is a struggle about who will control the billions of dollars, 10,000 barrels of oil a day that is siphoned out of nigeria. the united states government has the information about bunkering about exploitive capital, about financing boko haram. the united states government used that information selectively in order to get what they want from the nigerian government. 40 years ago, the president of nigeria was called by henry kissinger when the nigerian supported the angolans and cubans in southern africa. the nigerians were

northeast nigeria is a black hole for information, which is one reason this story is not getting theoverage it deserves. the other is the president good luck jonathan doesn't want boko haram setting the agenda before the election and doesn't want to spend time talking to journalists about the group. our starting point this week is the capitol. >> boko haram is in the remotest parts of the country, northern nigeria, where much of the media is absent. if we are absent, then once we get to the other output or none at all. >> information comes out very slowly. we have inaccurate information coming out initially, and we all know that what people hear first is what they'll remember. if you have a figure such as 2,000 bandied around, that figure will remain as opposed to the official figure realized by the military, which was 150. >> i also remember that nigerian journalists are not the best. they don't have insurance. if a journalist dies while covering anything, in local parlance, we say he is on his own. o.y.o., on your observe. boko haram not your regular army. they delight in killing j

nigeria is the largest country in africa. the future will affect the future. >> who needs to take the lead when it comes to retraining the military? >> well it would be nice if the nigerian government were more resent resent -- receptive to the u.s. and british to come in and be helpful. they are rhetty sent to do that and have rejected some of our training. they have to meet a standard. the u.s. has a lay hi law saying you can't train troops violating human rights. they and we need to step up and say "this is something we need to put more attention to. >> what will it take moving forward? >> i think it's importance that nigeria reigns in the security forces, it would be a show of confidence making the government a more willing partner, making them accept for help from others. it's important to improve protection this the north. it's about the girls abducted and others affected with socio support. and to end the marginalization of the north. which allows the abuses to perpetuate. >> what is life like for nigeria? >> it depend

and chances are you haven't heard of another date line which has seen for more bloodshed in eastern nigeria. it's been under constant attack by the mill stand group boko haram. the death toll there depends on the source. some say 2,000 the military at 150. that encapsulates the problem with covering this story. very little is verifiable, because much that have corner of the country is under boko haram's control. our only real window comes from satellite imagery because the region is inaccessible to the authorities let alone the media. mobile phones haven't worked there for months, so social media has no way to report what is happening. northeast nigeria is a black hole for information which is one reason this story is not getting the coverage it deserves. the other is the president good luck jonathan doesn't want boko haram setting the agenda before the election and doesn't want to spend time talking to journalists about the group. our starting point this week is the capitol. capitol. >> boko haram is in the remotest parts of the country northern nigeria, where much of the media is absent.

you see it in afghanistan pakistan, central asia, nigeria. but you also, going back historically, can see it in the rise of militant protestantism in the 16th century. >> the state of what is happening in the middle east -- what can the u.s. and its allies do to curb the corruption that is fueling extremism? is there anything they can do? >> in iraq, what did the united states do? it immediately allies itself with the most corrupt autocratic regimes in the middle east, thereby basically proving the very propaganda that al qaeda and isis have been disseminating about the united states. what the u.s., great britain, or other western countries should do is stop actively enabling this corruption by engaging in pay to play relationships that these regimes, where we exchange foreign assistance for sure term strategic objectives we might have. >> thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> in yemen, it has been a day of dramatic events. it started with heavy fighting between toothy rebels and the army -- tutsi rebels and the army. then hut

also secretary kerry threatens to pull military support from nigeria even though the threat grows from boko haram terrorists. i'm antonio mora, we'll have more on those straight ahead. >> the stage appears to be set for a political battle against the prime ministers. >> saying no to all of these. >> in a hill overlooking kobani. the flag of the kurdish protection unit. >> battle against the islamic state of iraq and the levant. >> through a more than half dozen villages people killing and looting. >> we will continue to support the nigerian military in its fight against boko haram. >> we begin with developments in two of the world's important democracies. one greece is the oldettes but it suffered from a full depression and now the country has elected a left wing government. the other, india, is the world's most populace democracy with a growing economy that's growing to address the needs of more than a million people. in greece wh where where democracy was born, elected a new government alexis tsipras, sworn in as prime minister, european lenders including german chancellor angela mer

we will continue to follow the latest out of nigeria.you on as an important voice in what is happening. thank you very much, samuel. appreciate you joining us again under these circumstances. >> thank you, tamron. >>> developing now, the dhs funding fight. a vote in the house going on right now. house speaker john boehner said he will throw his full support behind the bill to fund the agency. a bill that also includes amendments to de-fund the president's action on immigration. this is our hot first read coming up next. plus this. >>> we have to admit that we really don't have enough minutes in the day to get everything done that we would like to see accomplished for our children. >> this is not child's play the end of recess? elementary schools across the country say students do not have enough class time to meet common core standards, but is cutting recess the answer to it? it is our "newsnation" gut check. tell us what you think. i've been coloring liz's hair for years. but lately she's been coming in with less gray than usual what's

violence up in the northeast of nigeria. had some comments from the military, now saying that efforts are being prepared to re-take this town. but, yes, you're right. it's a horrific list of atrocities going on in the northeast of nigeria. and as we heard from the catholic archbishop of jos in central nigeria, he's calling for that same kind of resolve that we saw on the streets of paris, the international community coming together. he's calling for the same for nigeria. but frankly, we know that's not going to happen. yes, there is some military support from countries like america and britain, with training of troops but even when almost 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped last year the rallies that were called rarely got more than a few hundred people out on the streets. >> will ross. >>> there's been a firebomb attack on the hong kong home and the former offices of the media tycoon jimmy lye. now, mr. lye is a pretty outspoken critic of beijing. he also played a prominent role in the pro-democracy protest in hong kong last mon

so i think that there was slowness on the part of the leadership in nigeria, and that lead to nigeriaalling the neighbors, knowing that this was happening within borders. so boko haram at the moment has evolved into a cross-border armed group that is operating within those areas -- >> so is the way to fight boko haram -- is the way to then combat boko haram as well as other armed groups in africa solely through military means, or do governments really have to look at the source and the root of what is behind the up serge and the longevity in the lives of these armed groups? >> well this group -- one has to first of all ask who is really arming them? who is providing the material they are using? they look well armed, well-fed well trained with sophisticated weapons in nigeria. they have even set up military barracks, and from that point of view that is a question that needs to be looked at. but you are right, that this cannot be done by just one country. this is a cross-border phenomenon at the moment and those countries need to get together. but we have seen this similar phenomenon in

>> not by nigeria alone. i think with bo boko haram reach'-- i think boko haram's reach has extended. it will require international forces to address this very real concern. >> a story that has been underreported over the last few days but clearly very serious in northern nigeria. you're watching bbc world news america. still to come, one of the black boxes for the air asia flight crashed into the java sea has been recovered. investigators hope it could unravel the mystery of exactly what happened. the bbc has learned that the so-called islamic state movement is trying to recruit fighters in afghanistan. a former taliban commander is said to have joined the movement. >> afghan forces are on high alert in their headquarters. there have already been several taliban attack since revision american forces left the base last month. now the afghan troops may be training to fight a new enemy. a former taliban commander has changed sides. the his merchants -- the emergence of the so-called islamic state is a disturbin

any support that will come to nigeria that is not to undermine the territorial integrity of nigeria iscome, but the emphasize is -- has always been help us with the resources to fight the war, we have the men. we just need additional capacity. this is what the government of nigeria has committed, which requires time to acquire. but the nigerian armed forces are achieving in the fight against terror. >> i have to ask you something rather important. the human rights groups raised just yesterday -- just thursday some of the issues the abuses conducted by nigeria's armed forces the fact that they adhere to these abuses in the fight against boko haram, it seems to be justified. how is the government going to stop that from happening? how are they going to stop that from getting out of control now? >> you cannot stop -- you cannot stop -- you cannot stop what is not happening from happening. that is -- >> well you can stop human rights abuses against people. >> no but -- no, but what i am saying even if it is not happening, what do you stop? what i clearly say is that the nigerian armed forc

this one in nigeria. we'll have the grim details on that rampage coming up. >>> we'll take you to the floor of the java sea where divers recovered the tail section of flight 8501 and continue the search for the plane's black boxes. that and more when we come back. do stay with us. >>> welcome back, everyone. suspicion is falling on the militant group boko haram on a new attack in nigeria. a bomb evidently strapped onto a 10-year-old girl, was blown up saturday in a crowded part of the country. security sources tell reuters at least 16 people were killed, and more than 20 wounded. officials say it's likely the bomb was triggered by remote control. the city where the bomb went off is in the heartland of the boko haram insurgency. the news comes as boko haram is being accused of a massacre on a horrific scale. hundreds, perhaps thousands of people are reported to have been killed in the days long attack. we want to turn now to our reporter who is monitoring the violence in nigeria. so diana, the details, jus

satellite images show the deadliest massacre in the history of boko haram on two towns in northern nigeria giving a look at a region which has become extremely dangerous and difficult to access. this was done before the armed group moved in, vegetation shaded in red. all around, you see streets and buildings. here's the same town on january 7. just look at that, an estimated 3,000 homes as well as schools and clinics destroyed. it's a similar seen three miles away. here it is on the second of january, another thriving down and this is how it looks five days later after attacks by boko haram. 20,000 people have fled the area. amnesty international has severed disturbing testimony from survivors of these latest attacks. >> witnesses are telling us that boko haram attacked saturday, more than one week ago went house to house pulling people out of their homes and shooting them in the streets. we've also had reports from eyewitnesses as they tried to flee, boko haram fighters were waiting for them in the trees in the surrounding bush, and so civilians were being shot as they tried to flee the a

and john kerry's visit to nigeria. that's aljazeera.com. there it is on your screen. >> as the world's most elderly nation - japan is dancing with a demographic disaster. people are living longer and birthrates are falling fast. no other country has a greater percentage of old people. the government has responded by

. >>> and islamist rebel group in nigeria has carried out a massacre.s sacked and burned several towns in northern nigeria, killing hundreds, by some estimates, up to 2,000 residents. for more on this, let's bring in the he would of the africa program and he joins me now from london. thank you so much for speaking with us. so we are hearing these horrifying details of these attacks by boko haram. and on top of this nigerians are still waiting to hear word of the hundreds of boys and girls abducted by boko haram and ask why is their government and military unable to fight them. what is the answer to that? >> i'm asking the question too, why is it that boko haram has been so successful in northeastern nigeria and why we're still waiting to hear about the fate of the schoolgirls and children as you mentioned. the answer, i think, is the ineptude of the nigerian security forces. they are unable to respond to the violence occurring in northeast nigeria. it's a very depressing situation and shows just how dramatically the security forces in nigeria have deter

nigeria is guto hold presidential elections.o doubt safety and stability will be in the forefront of voters' minds. neighboring current trees are warning a disruption by the polls regionally. erica woods, al jazeera. >> reportedly dozens of children have been kidnapped, a spokesman for cameroon's government and the information minister joins me from the capitol of camaroon. what do you know sir of what has happened. >> thank you for giving me the opportunity to express in my capacity in the early hour of today, boka haram insurge events attacked a village, and they destroyed 80 residences three people and many people teenagers were taken hostages. for the time being i don't have a figure to give you with respect to people who were taking hostages. if you come back i will give you the information. this is the ation. this is the right moment. >> impossible. there is no community. to come together to put together the effort in order to do this. >> it's not a great line minister but i would just like to go over some of the points th

but the meantime the troops are going to cameroon because nigeria has not requested assistance fromeal with the crisis. the original grouping the economic community of west africa state is talking about setting up a regional task force to deal with the threat of boko haram as well as other terror activities in the member state. this shows that countries in the region and countries observing what is happening in parts of nigeria and cameroon are really concerned with this development. we will probably see the deployment of foreign troops from maybe the united states britain and other west african countries as well as the member states of the african union but the big question is how will some nigeria take the document because many are very suspicious of the presence of foreign troops especially from the west on their own soil. >>> flooding killed dozens of people in southern africa malowi hit hard with 48 deaths and 100,000 people homeless and we report from south of the country. >> reporter: on tuesday at dawn when flood waters swept through this township in southern malawi and wate

nigeria's president goodluck jonathan. >> i'm ali ali velshi. velshi. >> the sun isn't up yet, but david godeski is. godeski has been homeless in washington d.c. for nearly 7 years. last night, like most, he slept outside. with affordable housing getting increasingly scarce here there's been a spike in the number of homeless. churches, food pantries, the city, are all scrambling to meet the demand. at the public library's main branch, homeless individuals rush in when the doors open, some are even dropped off by a shuttle bus from the homeless shelters. once inside, they log onto computers to job hunt or check email. they meet friends or just read protected from the elements. >> for many years we would sort of open our doors and say "okay, we've done our job", because we're providing them a warm place to go if they've got no place else to be. >> now, social worker jean badalamenti will help provide information on homeless services and will "sensitize" staff. while government, residents and local businesses argue over the role of the libraries, d

what about the government of nigeria and the military there in nigeria, what is it that they can't standto boko haram? >> reporter: well, there are many conflicting views on that one. it would appear that nigeria has the money and the capacity to stand up to this terror group in the north. but when you look at the military which has been accused of grave human rights abuses itself in terms of the way that it's handling the situation up there, you also have a military where a lot of the soldiers feel that they're not properly equipped. they don't have the ammunition that they need. there was an incident before christmas where various soldiers mutinied and refuse to take up arms against boko haram because they said that they didn't have the weapons, the ammunition that they needed. and they were sentenced to death for mutiny. it shows you really the very difficult struggle that the military have in that region. but i think it's important -- i haven't sort of talked about the broader issue of this week, which is this huge spate of killings that boko haram has reportedly carried out in the r

boko haram in nigeria and cameroon.secretary of state john kerry talked about the possibility of united states and u.k. uniting to bring to an end this development. then we saw the president of cameroon asking for assistance in dealing with the threat. the chadian parliament on friday passed a resolution. in the meantime nigeria has not requested assistance from chad to deal with the boko haram crisis. the original grouping the economic community talked about setting up a regional task force to deal with the threat of boko haram, and other terror activities in member states. this shows that countries in the region, and countries observing what is happening in parts of nigeria and cameroon are concerned with this do. we'll probably see the deployments of foreign troops from maybe the united states britain and other west african countries and member states. how will some mige earians take this -- nigerians take the development. there are many who are suspicious. especially from the west from their own soil. >> for a deepe

nigeria is due to hold presidential elections next monthly. no doubt safety and stability will be in the forefront of voters' minds. neighboring country is warning a disruption of the polls boy boko haram will have implications implications regionally. >> joining us now former director of the nigerian state security service now a security consultant. this would seem logical that have one country who has a problem with insecurity with boko haram getting together with neighbors who have the same problem to do something together. why has it taken so long? >> well, you see you recall that an international joint task force was in place com pliesing niger, chad for a joint task force. now nigeria has the operations. the countries seem indifferent. it's not as if the nigerian government can release responsibility for the safety of its citizens, but i believe that it's better that our neighbors participate actively in the fight against boko haram in nigeria should be able to mind their own borders so the people coming in from the influx of various cou

these attacks happened in a remote northeastern region of nigeria.ea where boko haram militants have a lot of control an influence. people in several communities in and around the town of bag-a were targeted. children and amongst them. that the because of these isolated locations we may never know how many really died there. now as you know boko haram is an extremist islamist militant group. it is notorious for violence. u.s. government has declared it a terrorist organization. it has carried out bombings, attacks on churches and kidnappings. most notably, the abduction of 200 schoolgirls last year. most of those are still in captivity. now the group is also thought to be behind a recent bombing in a marketplace in nigeria killing around 16 people. they use ad 10-year-old girl as a suicide bomber in that incident. and there is a concern that the group, boko haram will step up its campaign of violence ahead of elections in the country next month. now ultimately the goal of this organization is to overthrow the post in nigeria and establish an islamic

nigeria is due to hold presidential elections next month. no doubt, safety and stability will be in the forefront of voters' minds. neighboring countries are warning a disruption of the polls by boko haram who have implications not just inside nigeria but regionally as well. erica woods, al jazeera. >> a suicide bomber has killed five people in northeast nigeria. a bomber drove a car rigged with explosives into a bus station wounding another 35 people. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. still to come this hav hour: a record 6 million people turn out to see pope francis celebrate mass in a rapey manila. >> in selma 50 years after african-americans won the right to vote. a new hollywood movie comes out, we will look at the legacy of what happened here and how people are reacting. ney >> sunday night. >> 140 world leaders will take the podium. >> get the full story. >> there is real disunity in the security council. >> about issues that impact your world. >> infectious diseases are a major threat to health. >> "the week ahead". s

this is basically chad, nigeria and cameroon. nigeria prefers to have a commission of west african states to head the anti boko haram onslaught. they want forces from ghana sierra leone countries like liberia and other parts of west africa instead of chad and cameroon. countries like chad were very keen to fight boko haram in a very tight position, because chad has a lot to lose, because it has got great trade relations with nigeria most of the livestock from chad are taken from market in nigeria. there's a lot that comes from nigeria to chad and the road that links them is closed by boko haram. this is one of those forces deployed to try to take on boko haram. from what we are hearing from diplomats, there is the likelihood of having two forces fighting boko haram, one inside the country allowed by nigeria which is echoed and other by the forces of cameroon and chad fighting boko haram along the border. >> hamad, thank you very much. he is reporting for us from chad. boko haram is high on the agenda at african union summit. a fo

our correspondent joins us now from nigeria. we have to point out it has become so difficult to report from northeastern nigeria that satellite images are basically as close as we can get it seems. >> yes, because parts of the northeast of nigeria are basically a war zone. if you talk about the case in baga now, the military is trying to take control of the town and the surrounding villages at the moment. it is not possible for journalists or any observers to go and assess the situation. the other problem is that boko haram destroyed all the talking medication in the region, so it is not possible -- telecommunication in the region, so it is not possible to communicate. only refugees can tell us the story of what happened. they tell us what happened is really terrible, a real act of slaughter by boko haram. >> the nigerian president goodluck jonathan just made a surprise visit to the northeast of the country. why'd he do that? some people say you did that to prove that boko haram is not in total control there. >> that's what many

the united states secretary of state john kerry has now arrived in nigeria. he's there for talks ahead of the country's presidential elections in less than three weeks and will meet with the main contenders, president goodluck jonathan, as well as the former military leader. in the capitol we'll talk about kerry's visit in a moment, but tell us what's going on out there in the town. >> just over an hour ago, we were able to speak to one eyewitness on the ground in the city. a member of the civilian joint task force. those are ordinary nigerians supporting the lil father in the fight against boko haram. the last update that is at least 20 soldiers were killed. he saw this firefight with boko haram taking place himself. earlier, the same source said civilians had been killed. he counted at least 10 bodies, including children, said about 300 to 400 boko haram fighters had tornado the city and that fighting was ongoing in some places. there was also very well abrasion and job reaction from the military in certain areas where they repelled attacks by the group. th

and goes back to nigeria. in many things happen to her. it is about her childhood loves who goes to the u.k. and returns to nigeria. so for me it is a novel about leaving home and going back home. and really about what home means . if you can go back home. >> they go back in both cases to places that are different and they are different. >> they are. they have been changed by leaving home. i think they've also come to see home differently. i think they have changed. we all change as we age. >> don't we all. >> the hope is we change for the better. while "americanah" is not based on my experience, because my life is not very interesting. and my life is easier, in many ways. i was in the u.s. for four years before i could afford to move back home. i had this feeling nigeria had left me behind. i had a sense, you leave home and you create home in your mind and then you go back and it is not what you built up in your mind. there is a sense of loss because you imagine things happen when you are not there. >> how mu

. >>> chad's air force has bombed boko haram fighters in nigeria forcing them out of a town that thed for three months. chad recently sent hundreds of troops into cameroon to use the country as a base to launch attacks against boko haram. but nigerian government isn't happy about its neighbor's intervention. >> reporter: they have confirmed that there are forces stationed on the border that have taken on boko haram fighter in the village in northeast nigeria. they say they first used a jet bomber to attack the fighters and those who fled towards the border were then attacked by their ground forces who were stationed in the cameroonian border town. chadian forces do not have the authority of the nigerian government to fight boko haram inside nigeria. and the reluctance by nigeria to allow forces in their country to fight the boko haram fighters is putting at risk the entire regional efforts that have been put in place to fight boko haram. nigerian authorities are said to prefer troops from countries that are members of the economic community of west african state. cameroon and chad ha

i global searched for anyone, any journalist in nigeria that would come out and say nigeria is at warund one journalist holding the president to task. one. this is when you have your borders attacked by foreign wars. it's not just a foreign war, it's a civil war. so we have a hybrid war happening for the first time in nigeria without the president actually defining it as such. >> what are the stated goals of boko haram? >> they have actually moved to isis-style attacks where they actually want to claim occupancy. they're trying to convert the northeastern nigeria into an islamic state. >> it's a movement without violence. >> they believe the region should become a counterfeit region in which the education is not western. they reject all western values and they believe in their god and their movement. like i said, they're taking an isis style approach. this is very significant. and the president needs to actually come out, define it and say something. because if he cannot define this now when we're actually just dealing with terrorism on the ground, who knows? >> presidential election

let's talk to our correspondent in northern nigeria. tell us more about the attack that took place on wednesday, we gather. >> well basically the attack on wednesday was more like boko haram trying to finish what they couldn't finish over the weekend when they attacked the finishing community of baga. it's on lake chad bordering nigeria, chad and cameroon. basically they attacked the village over the weekend and killed lots of people. some are talking about hundreds of people killed. many of them drowned on the lake chad trying to flee or cross the water into a neighbouring country. they came back on wednesday, went into the town and started killing again. the other people who couldn't flee - they were killed. those that could escape escaped. they burnt the town. then they moved to other villages and attacked the villages some of the villages have been completely burnt. those 16 areas, including baga town are effectively under the control of boko haram or suspected boko haram fighters. >> update there on the latest attack in nigeria. th

. >> in nigeria we're getting reports that a suicide bomber has killed four and wounded dozens. the incident took place in the northeastern town. we'll have more on the story as we get more information. >> staying in west africa, troops from chad have been deployed to fight the armed group boko haram in northern nigeria. they'll be joining soldiers from across the border from cameron. erika wood has more. >> troops from chad rolled by to join cameroon and nigerian soldier. this is the beginning of a major joint military assault against boko haram involving regional forces. >> it is important to say that with war there is dead, blood sacrifice. we cannot be indifferent to what is going on because we are directly concerned and cameroon should not be alone fighting boko haram. >> in that fight chad's president urged other african nation to say join in. the issue of whether to form a broad coalition force is due to be discussed at a meeting of african leaders in coming days. there is an interest in a widespread offense against boko haram because the armed force has launched more and

some western countries offered to help nigeria.en or eight months after people are yet to hear any positive development about the whereabouts of these girls and whether or not they will be rescued by the security services both here in nigeria and the ones offering help from outside of nigeria. so this is a welcome development to many nigerians, especially those who have suffered so much. >> talking about security forces where are they? this is not the first time that remote areas have been attacked. where was the army? >> well the army says it is doing everything it can to bring the situation under control. but what is happening on the ground sort of puts that -- shows that definitely that -- that is not enough. as we speak now, the -- the boko haram fighters are occupying a larger territory in northeast nigeria, especially in the states. boko haram is chasing them out of their barracks. sitting civilian populations and killing thousands. people are wondering what exactly are happening. >> why are areas in the north being attacked

we need to bring it here to nigeria.is that this country can't do it alone, that they absolutely need to get their own house in order. there are people who put their hands up and say yes, we need to but like this religious leader they stand up and also say now is the time the world should come and unite around us in nigeria as well, because it's a problem that won't go away. it's a problem that's growing and it's a problem they say quite frankly that will ultimately reach our borders as well. >> nic robertson reporting for us in nigeria. thank you. please stay safe. >>> coming up next a bartender was arrested for his alleged plot to poison the speaker of the house. what exactly did he have against john boehner? that's coming up next. plus another discovery in the search for airasia flight 8501 as investigators continue to scour the ocean floor. new details on that. ♪ music ♪ ...the getaway vehicle! for all the confidence you need. td ameritrade. you got this. >>> welcome back to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. in our politi

for the latest on the search and the increasing tensions between nigeria and the united states we are joined now via skype from drew hinshaw of the "wall street journal." he's reporting tonight from accra in nearby ghana. so i think the question on most americans' minds is why haven't we found these girls and why are we hearing about more kidnappings throughout the year by boca what ram? >> the short answer is boko haram is doing something very much like winning in the northeast of nigeria. the girls, there are 276 at first, and now it's down to 219 after a number of them escaped. and that's just a small segment of the total number of people boca hararksam has kidnapped. they control a large section of eastern nigeria, including mountains, caves forests small towns, even small cities at this point. it's a hard thing to find individual scirlz girls who have all been split up at this point. in may the u.s. sent drones and manned surveillance flights, and they did spot large groups of girls twice in june and july. they have no idea if those are the girls or if those are a separate group

>> i mean, in nigeria, if you go through the papers in nigeria, everybody's talking about the politics as opposed to the actual violence that's going on. so it appears as though this situation is taking a backseat to -- with prevalence to the politics grid. and of course, the situation is being featured and questions are being thrown right across from the ruling party, as well as the opposition, as to how better this can be handled. but politics as an issue is probably what's being discussed, what the key topic in the media, on the streets, in nigeria, as opposed to what people are going to expect that this escalating security situation would be the one that's bothering people. >> okay, tommy, thanks so much for that. also to remind you, in the past 15 minutes or so we heard from the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry saying what happened in baga is a crime against humanity. but there is so much more for you at bbc.com/africa, on nigeria's struggle with boko haram. also, those satellite images are on the website as well. so do go and log on and check it out if you want more details. >

it's definitely not a nigeria nigeria-only problem. it's about time. i'm glad that the african union is focusing on it. >> and what do you think the nigerians themselves are going to make of it? historically they've always had a certain ambivalence of having foreigners involved in their security matters and of course we're just a week or so away from elections. >> i think that if i might say so that is a great question. i think yes in general they're quickly saying we don't need help. we give help. we're the big guys. but against boko haram the army has struggled. i think the elections make a big difference. president jonathan, one thing he has been criticized for the most especially here in washington, corruption may be a second, but they have been crashing them. he claims he can do a better job. he feels he can do a better job. my expectation even though the general in nigeria does not like for people to come in to offer security this is the exception because of the size of the problem, and because of the election. whoever wins is actually going to m

they'll be joining soldiers from cameroon and nigeria. erica wood has more. >> translation: troops from chad rolled which on the way to join soldiers on the way to cameroon and nigeria. this is the beginning of an assault on boko haram, involving regional forces. >> it's important to stay that in war there is in death. in war there is blood and sacrifice. if goes to us. we cannot be indifferent to what is going on. we are concerned and believe that cameroon must not be alone. >> in that fight, chad's president urged other african nations to join in. the issue of whether to form a broad coalition force is due to be discussed at a meeting of african union leaders in the coming days. there's a wider interest into launching an offense against boko haram, because the armed force launched more and more attack not just inside nigeria, but outside as well. as the violence spreads, thousands are forced to escape. >> our statistics say there are more than 12,000 refugees - women, children men and representatives of local authorities, among them eig