Nigeria 's embattled leader vowed Boko Haram 's abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls would be the terror group 's undoing , even as authorities admitted Thursday the girls likely have been separated and taken out of the country . President Goodluck Jonathan 's statements come amid mounting international outrage over the mass abduction and the government 's largely ineffective effort to subdue Boko Haram . `` By God 's grace , we will conquer the terrorists . I believe the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of the end for terror in Nigeria , '' Jonathan said at the opening of the World Economic Forum meeting in Nigeria 's capital city of Abuja . He also acknowledged the offers of help from the United States , Britain , China and France , all of which have offered help in the weeks-old search for the girls who were snatched in mid-April from their beds at an all-girls school in rural northeastern Nigeria . But the task of recovering the girls appeared to grow more complicated with news that U.S. intelligence believe the 276 girls have been split up . `` We do think they have been broken up into smaller groups , '' U.S. Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby , the Pentagon press secretary , said . He declined to detail how U.S. officials came to the conclusion . It is a sentiment that has been echoed by a number of others , who believe the girls already have been moved out of Nigeria and into neighboring countries . `` The search must be in Niger , Cameroon and Chad , to see if we can find information , '' former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown , the U.N. 's special envoy for global education , told CNN . `` It 's vital to use the information to find the girls before they are dispersed across Africa , which is a very real possibility . '' The girls have not been seen since Boko Haram militants abducted them on April 14 from the Government Girls Secondary School in rural Chibok , about 80 miles ( 130 kilometers ) west of Maiduguri and some 600 miles from the capital of Abuja . That was followed on Sunday night by another kidnapping , with villagers in Warabe accusing Boko Haram militants of taking at least eight girls between the ages of 12 and 15 . Boko Haram leader takes a new tact . Boko Haram 's leader , Abubakar Shekau , took credit in a video that surfaced this week for the mass kidnappings . `` I abducted your girls , '' he taunted in the video , first obtained by Agence France Presse . `` There is a market for selling humans . Allah says I should sell . He commands me to sell . '' Shehu Sani , a former negotiator between Boko Haram and the government , believes the group targeted the girls to force concessions from the Nigerian government -- beginning perhaps with the release of its followers from prisons . `` The fact Shekau said he would sell the girls and did not say he would kill them is a clear indication that negotiation is possible . Shekau 's video is not going to be the last word from the group on the girls , '' he said . Now , Boko Haram may be going after those trying to find the girls . On Thursday , Nigerian police said one officer was shot in the neck during a gunfight with suspected members of the group on the road between Maiduguri and Chibok . And on Monday , Boko Haram attacked Gamboru Ngala , a remote state capital near Nigeria 's border with Cameroon that has been used as a staging ground for troops in the search for the girls . Some of the at least 310 victims were burned alive . The assault fits a pattern of revenge-seeking by Boko Haram against those perceived to disagree with the group or those who have provided aid to the Nigerian government . 'Time is of the essence ' The Nigerian government has been under fire by those who say government officials failed to take action in the hours and then days after the girls were abducted . Jonathan , who waited three weeks before speaking to the nation on the matter , and his security ministers have defended the response , saying efforts were under way but could not be disclosed publicly . Nigeria appeared this week to admit it needed help , accepting offers of assistance from world leaders . The United States was among a number of nations who repeatedly offered assistance to Nigeria in recent weeks , Kirby said . `` In a hostage situation , time is of the essence , '' Kirby said . `` ... We lost some time . '' The United States is sending a team of law enforcement experts and military advisers . France said Thursday that it would send a `` specialized team '' to help . The British government is also sending a small team , Prime Minister David Cameron 's office said . Neither country said exactly what expertise their teams would bring . British satellites and advanced tracking capabilities also will be used , and China has promised to provide any intelligence gathered by its satellite network , the Nigerian government said . Seven members of the U.S. military are scheduled to arrive Friday in Nigeria to join a team of advisers supporting the Nigerian efforts to rescue the girls , Kirby said . Right now , there are no plans to send U.S. combat troops , he said . Nigeria 's top security officials appealed to the public for help during a visit to the Chibok school on Thursday , according to a statement released by Nigeria 's director of defense information . The chief of defense , Air Marshal Alex S. Badeh , called on members of the immediate community to provide security agencies with useful information that will lead to the rescue of the girls . Boko Haram , which translates to `` Western education is sin '' in the local Hausa language , has said it wants a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa 's most populous nation . The militants have even been known to kill Muslim clerics who dare criticize them . The United States has branded Boko Haram a terror organization and has put a $ 7 million bounty on Shekau . Nigerian police also announced a reward of about $ 310,000 for information leading to the girls ' rescue . Why has n't the rescue effort produced results ? Why terror group kidnaps schoolgirls , and what happens next . 6 reasons why the world should demand action .
Former negotiator believes Boko Haram targeted girls to force concessions . Nigerian security chiefs call on those with information about the girls to come forward . Search must expand to Niger , Cameroon and Chad , a U.N. official says . France joins United States , Britain , China in search for girls abducted by group .