"You must continue day and night fighting. We must find these children," Major General Waidi Shaibu, recently promoted to chief of army staff, told troops deployed to Kebbi State on Monday.

After weeks of resistance, behind-the-scenes pressure and frenzied lobbying against making the material public, the president threw in the towel on Sunday as it became clear that as many as 100 Republicans in Congress were poised to defy him.