Nigeria's defense chief has claimed that the army already knows the location of almost 300 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamic extremists but cannot use force to bring them back.

On Monday, Air Marshal Alex Badeh told rallyists that the Nigerian military can save them but they cannot risk the lives of the kidnapped girls in the effort, according to an Associated Press report cited by Fox News.

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Badeh said those words to thousands of demonstrators marching to the Defense Ministry in Abuja. When asked by reporters about the location of the girls, he refused to explain further.

A senior US army official told Fox News that the reports cannot be verified independently.

Badeh told the crowd that the Nigerian army is capable of bringing the girls back because they know what they are doing. However, he stressed that they cannot guarantee their safety if they would use force to save the girls.

The army and government of Nigeria have both faced local and international criticisms over their failed efforts to rescue the schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram militants six weeks ago. Just this month, President Goodluck Jonathan has been forced to accept international aid from the US, UK, France, Israel, and other countries in the surveillance and rescue efforts.

Jonathan's previous reluctance to accept aid is viewed as his unwillingness to expose the alleged corruption of his army to the eyes of other nations.

More than 300 schoolgirls were taken by force from their school in Chibok on April 15. According to police reports, 53 have escaped and 276 are still in the hands of the militants.

A video posted by the Boko Haram showed some of their captives reciting verses from the Koran in Arabic, with a couple of them explaining their reason for converting from Christianity to Islam while being held captive. Some unverified reports suggested that two girls have died from snake bites and some have been married to their kidnappers by force.

Boko Haram believes that the Western culture is a bad influence to Nigeria. The militant group wants to enforce the strict Shariah law in the country.