More teenage girls kidnapped in Nigeria

More girls have been kidnapped in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, a security source and residents said Tuesday, some 24 hours after Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the mid-April abduction of 234 teenage schoolgirls in the same region.

At least eight girls were kidnapped after gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters stormed Warabe Village in southern Gwoza local government area of the Borno province Sunday night, Xinhua quoted the security source as saying.

Residents said the gunmen also carted away foodstuff and livestock belonging to the villagers before fleeing. The attackers, numbering 20 or more, were armed with sophisticated rifles, according to residents of the Warabe village, about 160 km away from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.

The residents blamed Boko Haram for the attack, although there was no immediate claim by the group for the attack and abduction.

In a video released Monday, Boko Haram said its members were behind the mid-April kidnapping of schoolgirls in Chibok town, an incident which sparked outrage locally and internationally.

During a periodic media chat Sunday, President Goodluck Jonathan dismissed news that the government was negotiating with the insurgents to secure the release of the abducted girls.

"The government cannot negotiate with faceless people," said Jonathan, while reassuring parents, guardians and all Nigerians that government would rescue all the abducted girls.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is currently grappling with security challenges, one of which is the insurgency of Boko Haram, a sect which seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution.

Last Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in a blast in the capital Abuja, where the World Economic Forum on Africa will kick off Wednesday.