Boko Haram claims responsibility for kidnap of Chibok school girls

The girls were kidnapped from the dormitory of Government Secondary School, Chibok, on the night of April 14. The Boko Haram insurgent group has claimed responsibility for the kidnap of over 200 girls in Chibok, Borno State, the BBC is reporting. The claim is believed to have been made by the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a new video. PREMIUM TIMES is trying to get the video. The girls were kidnapped from the dormitory of Government Secondary School, Chibok, on the night of April 14. The actual number of girls kidnapped is yet to be verified with all accounts saying over 200 are still missing. President Goodluck Jonathan had said during the Presidential Media Chat on Sunday that the federal government has not been able to locate the girls. “From that day (of the abductions), till today, security personnel have been searching everywhere. All the information that have been volunteered to us, we’ve searched the places. We have used aircraft, helicopters that have the ability to scan what is on the surfaces. And we have scanned.” Mr. Jonathan also said no group had claimed responsibility for the kidnap and the government was not negotiating with any group for the release. “You can’t negotiate with somebody you don’t know,” he said. The Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in the north against the Nigerian government since 2009 that has led to the death of thousands of people and displacement of tens of thousands of others. At least 1,500 are believed to have been killed in 2014 alone. A state of emergency declared in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe has not deterred the group from committing its atrocities. More details later…