Fear of Boko Haram spreads throughout Nigeria
ABUJA, Nigeria - U.S. spy planes continued searching Tuesday in Nigeria for more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped last month by Islamic militants.
Among the aircraft searching Nigeria is the sophisticated Global Hawk drone.
The kidnapped girls should be studying for final exams. Instead -- if a video released by Boko Haram is genuine -- they sit and wait, their future uncertain.
Most schools in the north have been shut down due to fears of Boko Haram fighters. The radical Islamic group, which is behind last month's kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school, believes all Western education should be banned.
More than 500 miles away, in the capital, Abuja, the shadow of Boko Haram is being felt.
Martha Dugeri wants to be a doctor. But she said it's been difficult to study ever since the kidnapping.
"I felt really bad and scared at the same time," she said. "I just calm myself of the tension and fear so that I don't mess up my examinations."
Makuachi Ekwunife told CBS News she was scared at first, but she overcame it. She believes girls have a right to an education.
"It allows you so many things," she said. "First of all, your rights can't be compromised because you know what you are able to do."
"I believe every Nigerian child should get an education," added Martha. "Because once you are educated we can boot up ourselves."
The mass kidnapping has attracted global concern, but every week dozens of refugees arrive in the capital as Boko Haram continues its wave of violence against Christian families.
Ibrahim Joseph's family and their neighbors only took what they could carry on their backs. He told us their village of Gavva was looted and burned. Many of their neighbors were killed.
Now they sit and wait, their future uncertain.
