Boko Haram 'selling' and 'enslaving' Nigerian girls abducted from Chibok

The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad better known by its Hausa name Boko Haram ( roughly translated  "Western education is sinful")  is an Islamic, jihadist, militant and terrorist organization based in the northeast of  Nigeria,  North Cameroon and Niger Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the organization seeks to establish a "pure" Islamic state ruled by sharia law, putting a stop to what it deems "Westernization". The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets,  bombing churches, attacking schools and police stations,  kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment. Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.

The group exerts influence in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. In this region, a state of emergency has been declared.

Boko Haram 'selling' Nigerian girls abducted from Chibok

Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram has threatened to "sell" the hundreds of schoolgirls it abducted three weeks ago. Militant leader Abubakar Shekau sent a video obtained by the AFP news agency, in which he said for the first time that his group had taken the girls. About 230 girls are still believed to be missing, prompting widespread criticism of the Nigerian government. In the video, Abubakar Shekau said the girls should not have been in school in the first place, but rather should get married.
“I abducted your girls,” said the leader of Boko Haram, which means "'Western education is sinful'''.
He described the girls as “slaves” and said “By Allah, I will sell them in the marketplace.” The hour-long video starts with fighters lofting automatic rifles and shooting in the air as they chant “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great.”
"God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions," he said.

However,  the Boko Haram leader did not state where they were taken or are now.
It was unclear if the video was made before or after reports emerged last week that some of the girls have been forced to marry their abductors — who paid a nominal bride price of $12 — and that others have been carried into neighbouring Cameroon and Chad. Those reports could not be verified.
In the video, Shekau also says the students “will remain slaves with us.” That appears a reference to the ancient jihadi custom of enslaving women captured in a holy war, who then can be used as sex slaves.

The girls were taken from their boarding school in Chibok, in the northern state of Borno, on the night of 14 April. Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", has attacked numerous educational institutions in northern Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency has left thousands dead since 2009.
The Boko Haram video in which the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, claims responsibility for the abduction of the schoolgirls confirms what has been suspected all along. It also backs up what local people have been reporting - that the girls have been forcefully married off or sold as slaves to members of the group. This has further increased the level of anxiety among parents and relatives who fear for the safety of the girls, according to Fatima Gana, the founder of a charitable organization that helps victims of the dreaded group.
However, the video may not change the approach of the government and security agencies to the problem. The security forces say they are making use of all information that might lead to the rescue of the girls. At a briefing with journalists on Sunday night, President Goodluck Jonathan reassured Nigerians that the government was doing everything possible. But a Chibok elder, Pogu Bitrus, dismissed the president's assurances as mere talk, saying the community has no confidence that the government and its security apparatus will do now what they have not done in the last three weeks - take some practical measures to secure the release of the girls. It is a sentiment shared by most Nigerians.

The Associated Press news agency says it is unclear whether the video was made before or after reports last week that some of the girls had been forced to marry their abductors, who paid a nominal bride price of $12 . Others are reported to have been taken across borders into Cameroon and Chad. The girls were in their final year of school, most of them aged 16 to 18.

The AP has received reports of a gun battle on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, and houses being burnt down by individuals suspected to be members of Boko Haram. No further details are available.

President Goodluck Jonathan

Meanwhile, a woman who helped organize protests over the abduction was detained and later released. Naomi Mutah was taken to a police station after a meeting called by First Lady Patience
Jonathan. Mrs Jonathan reportedly felt slighted that the girls' mothers had sent Ms Mutah to the meeting instead of going themselves. Mrs Jonathan is seen as a politically powerful figure in Nigeria but has no constitutional power to order arrests. Ms Mutah, a representative of the Chibok community, organized a protest last week outside parliament in Abuja.
President Goodluck Jonathan: "Wherever these girls are, we will surely get them out"