UN sends envoy to Nigeria over kidnapped schoolgirls

United Nations - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is sending an envoy to Nigeria to offer assistance following the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, the UN said on Friday.

A brief statement said Ban had decided to dispatch Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, to Abuja to discuss ways of helping Nigerian authorities locate the kidnapped girls.

"In his meetings with senior government officials, [Djinnit] will offer the help of the United Nations and discuss how we can best support the authorities' efforts to safely return the kidnapped girls to their families," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

The mass abduction of girls by Boko Haram Islamists in northeastern Borno state has triggered an international outcry.

US, British and French experts have already arrived on the ground to help trace the schoolgirls, while around 10 army search teams are scouring the region.