Nigerian Islamist Terror Group Boko Haram Claims Responsibility For Kidnapping Of Schoolgirls

Nigeria

Last week, I noted that we had reached the two week point since the kidnapping of 234 Nigerian schoolgirls and there had been little or no reporting on the story in the American media. Since that point, I have been happy to see the story receiving coverage on CNN and other networks, as well as becoming the subject of an international social media campaign. Today, we received official confirmation from the group suspected of committing the attack that they are indeed responsible, and a chilling preview of the girls’ possible future:

(Reuters) – The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility on Monday for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in northeast Nigeria last month and threatened to “sell them on the market,” the French news agency AFP reported, citing a video.

Boko Haram on April 14 stormed an all-girl secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, then packed the teenagers, who had been taking exams, onto trucks and disappeared into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.

The brazenness and sheer brutality of the school attack shocked Nigerians, who have been growing accustomed to hearing about atrocities in an increasingly bloody five-year-old Islamist insurgency in the north.

“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in the video, according to AFP, which is normally the first media outlet to get hold of Shekau’s videos.

It did not immediately give further details.

Boko Haram, now seen as the main security threat to Africa’s leading energy producer, is growing bolder and extending its reach. The kidnapping occurred on the same day as a bomb blast, also blamed on Boko Haram, that killed 75 people on the edge of Abuja and marked the first attack on the capital in two years.

The militants, who say they are fighting to reinstate a mediaeval Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria, repeated that bomb attack more than two weeks later in almost exactly the same spot, killing 19 people and wounding 34 in the suburb of Nyanya.

In addition to the international outcry, there has also been an uprising of popular opposition to what seems like a lack of response from the Nigerian government, which has often seemed like it doesn’t know how to respond to the Boko Haram insurgency. It had been suspected for some time that the girls would be sold into what amounts to sexual slavery by their kidnappers and, sadly, this seems to confirm it. At this point, I suppose, all we can do is hope that they are somehow rescued.

FILED UNDER: Africa, Terrorism, , , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. bill says:

    wow, isn’t selling humans called slavery? and in africa of all places, who knew?!

  2. Tyrell says:

    It seems that something could be done. An elite rescue team could go in, hit quickly, and rescue these children. It has been done before. There are several countries that have pesonnel who could pull it off without a doubt.

  3. Grewgills says:

    @bill:
    I think that is the most brazenly callous and sh!tty thing I have ever read on this sight. That this your go to comment on this horrific incident is telling. I hope you are ashamed.

  4. Grewgills says:

    @Tyrell:
    That requires knowing where they are and the cooperation of the Nigerian government. Neither of those conditions are currently satisfied.

  5. mantis says:

    @Tyrell:

    Between this, your Benghazi comments, and other comments regarding foreign lands, it is clear you have an entirely cartoonish view of military capabilities and absolutely no understanding of sovereignty and foreign relations. Maybe you should stop watching Team America: World Police as your guide in these areas.

  6. Tony Merry says:

    This is not where you want things to go with these children they are a part of god Reales them and send em home and do not sin again this a Comandment

  7. Neil Hudelson says:

    @Tony Merry:

    Well, I hope the kidnappers are reading these comments, right?

  8. bill says:

    @Grewgills: eh, grow a pair. if you read my posts pertaining to this on another blog you might have a clue. reality sucks sometimes, deal with it. our gov’t doesn’t care and neither do our “ex-slaves”- they’re too busy whining about “racists” to do anything…..and our media is fairly silent for whatever reason.

  9. Franklin says:

    @Neil Hudelson: … and that they understand gibberish.

  10. Franklin says:

    @bill: Why would Grewgills have to find some unnamed blog to make sense of what you are saying here?

    Also, it’s not clear why slavery somewhere on another continent should make racism here acceptable (or unworthy of complaint).

  11. Just 'nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    “bill” has shown repeatedly that he is not the shiniest tool in the shed. He’s not even the sharpest spoon (let alone knife) in the silverware drawer. We should be ingoring him, not feeding his ego.

  12. Just 'nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    @Tony Merry: From your lips to Allah’s ears. Of course, that presumes that Boko Haram actually cares what Allah thinks–something tells me they really don’t, much the same as some Christians here.

  13. Grewgills says:

    @bill:
    Why the scare quotes around ex-slaves and how is racism here relevant?
    You made a ridiculously callous statement and what you may or may not have said elsewhere doesn’t make what you said here less sh!tty. You doubling down by blaming African Americans, the government, or the media for your callous disregard doesn’t make it any better. Own your crap.