Former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has asked Nigerian Islamic fundamentalist group Boko Haram to show recent pictures of all the Chibok girls they are holding captive, in order to prove they are alive and well.

Speaking on British television ITV ‘Good Morning Britain’ programme, Mr Brown said: “It is one way good news that the girls were photographed (Boko Haram video released on Monday). That shows that at least the majority of them are still alive. I would challenge Boko Haram to publish the pictures of all the girls so we can know all of them are still alive.”

Mr. Brown, who has been visiting Nigeria in his capacity as United Nations special envoy for global education, described the kidnap of the girls in northern Nigeria about a month ago as “every parent’s nightmare.”

He called on the international community to condemn Boko Haram and “tell them they cannot use girls this way – either using them as sex slaves or threatening to forcibly convert them to Islam.”

Mr. Brown noted that there was a massive internationally coordinated search going on behind the scenes to find the girls and said the Nigerian government is doing all it can to find the girls.

The Ex-British PM also advised the Nigerian government not to accede to the demands for the exchange of the kidnapped girls for Boko Haram members held in detention. “If we conceded to an exchange, that would mean Boko Haram would just do this again and again and again, knowing that they would have immediate results from doing so,” he said.

“If we can track down and locate the girls and then release them, that would be a blow to the efforts of Boko Haram, who have killed almost 5,000 people in the last few years.”

Mr. Brown added: “This is every parent's nightmare. My children are going to school this morning and we assume, all of us, that our children are going to be safe and they are going to return home without any danger and any risk.

“But now in Nigeria, this is an almost every-week occurrence that children are either being bombed or burned or they are being kidnapped or abducted.

“We must help the Nigerians to stop this.”

•Photo shows ex-British PM Gordon Brown.

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