Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamic extremists group, released a video claiming responsibility for last month's abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from the north-eastern Borno state.
The hour-long video obtained by French news agency Agence France-Presse, shows Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader, owing up to abducting the young girls. "I abducted your girls," Shekau said in the video, Reuters reports citing AFP.
CNN reports the leader threatened to sell the girls. "There is a market for selling humans... I will sell women. I sell women," Shekau said.
The schoolgirls were forcefully taken into trucks April 14 from a school in Chibok village where they were writing exams. The authorities updated the number of girls kidnapped to 276. At least 53 of the girls escaped. The abduction happened the same day the bomb blast occurred in Abuja killing 75.
A woman who helped arrange protests over the abduction was detained, community leaders said. The arrest led to further tension against the security forces. According to Reuters, President Jonathan said in a televised "media chat" that they will try to find and release the girls as soon as possible. However, he also said that he had no clue where they were.
Boko Haram that translates to 'Western education is sinful', is known for targeting Christians and government establishments. There have been an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013 due to the strife. Initially, founded as an indigenous group, Boko Haram became an extremist group in 2009. The group holds the ideology that any contact with the Western world should be prohibited. The militant group has assassinated whoever criticized them including Muslim clerics.
