 "Members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) campaign react on the presentation of a banner which shows \"218\", instead of the previous \"219\", referring to kidnapped Chibok school girls, during a sit-out in Abuja, Nigeria. Photo: Reuters")
Boko Haram on Tuesday (local time) claimed responsibility for the abduction of over 330 Nigerian students.
A man claiming to be a leader of Boko Haram said the terror group was responsible for kidnapping scores of schoolboys in northwestern Nigeria on Friday, according to a short audio message shared with Nigerian media and reviewed by CNN.
"I am Abubakar Shekau and our brothers are behind the kidnapping in Katsina," said the man.Abubakar Shekau is both the spiritual head and supreme commander of the terror group.While CNN has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the message, a state government spokesman has informed that about 337 students are still unaccounted for after an attack on the Government Science Secondary School Kankara.
"The message claimed that Boko Haram had targeted the school because of the group's long-held aim to stop "western" education in northern Nigeria, but a government official told CNN on Monday that the kidnappers had been in touch with a teacher of the school, raising the prospect of a ransom negotiation," CNN said.
Boko Haram operates in the western and central African region. It is known to oppose western civilisation model of education and seeks the introduction of sharia law in Nigeria.
The Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009 when the terrorists staged an armed rebellion against the Nigerian government.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
