The Nigeria Police has appealed to parents of more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, to come forward with photographs of the daughters.

The call echoes that of Kema Chikwe, women leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which attracted harsh criticisms, including from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), after it was made two days ago.

A BBC report quotes Borno State’s Commissioner of Police, Tanko Lawan, as saying that the authorities needed to confirm exactly who was missing as the school records had been burned in the attack. He said it was now thought that 223 girls were still missing after suspected Boko Haram terrorists took the girls away from their hostel in the night of April 14.

CP Lawan said the headmistress of the school in Chibok had been working to produce a list of those believed to have been taking their final year exams.

Her task had been hampered as students from surrounding areas had also come to the school to take the exams as it was believed the town was relatively safe from attack.

The police chief said current figures showed that 53 of the girls were believed to have escaped.

But he added that it was difficult to know for sure, as some parents may not have informed the authorities if their daughters had returned home.

“That’s why we’re appealing to parents to come with their photographs so that we know actually [that] these are the numbers we are dealing with,” he told the BBC Hausa service.

Since the kidnapping, the number of missing girls has been disputed and parents have criticised the government’s search and rescue efforts.

Earlier this week, a community leader in Chibok said that 230 girls were missing – a significantly higher figure than officials had been quoting – and 43 had escaped.

Protests have rocked several parts of Nigeria, calling on the government to do more to help secure the release of the innocent schoolgirls.

•Photo shows four of the abducted girls who managed to escape from their kidnappers.