Kidnapped girls located: 'We can't kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back.'— Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh

"The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you," Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh told reporters. "But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can't kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back."

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The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, has said the security leadership in the country has located where members of Boko Haram are holding the abducted girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, who were kidnapped on April 14.

Badeh however stated that the military would not use force to release the girls because of the need to prevent the insurgents from killing them.

He said the military had the capacity to bring back the abducted girls but would not use force for the crucial assignment.

He stressed that the military knew what it was doing and should be allowed to continue with its work.

'We want our girls back,; we want our girls back; we can do it, our military can do it but where they are held, can we go with force?

'If we go with force, what will happen? (they will kill them). So nobody should come and say the Nigerian military does not know what it is doing. We know what we are doing, we can't go and kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back. So we are working.

'The good news for the girls is that we know where they are but we cannot tell you, we cannot come and tell you military secrets here. Just leave us alone, we are working, we would get the girls back,” he said.

The BBC reported on Monday that a deal was nearly reached that would have seen the girls swapped for Boko Haram prisoners — a demand the group had made public — but that it was called off at the last minute.

Over the weekend, Senate President David Mark, the country's No. 3 official, ruled out doing a deal with Boko Haram.

The officer refused to divulge any further details, describing the operation as a “military secret”, but he added: “We are working. We will get the girls back.”

Addressing the protesters, Badeh said the military was faced with a dilemma of whether to send in ground troops, given fears of deaths and casualties among the 223 girls still being held.

"This government cannot negotiate with criminals and … will not exchange people for criminals. A criminal will be treated like a criminal," he was quoted by local media as saying.

“So, we are working. The president (Goodluck Jonathan) is solidly behind us. The president has empowered us to do the work.”