Nigeria: 115 schoolgirls still missing after being kidnapped by Islamic jihadists

Kidnapping infidels and releasing them for ransom or killing them, as well as enslaving them if that option is deemed most advantageous for the Muslims, is fully sanctioned in Islamic law: “As for the captives, the amir [ruler] has the choice of taking the most beneficial action of four possibilities: the first to put them to death by cutting their necks; the second, to enslave them and apply the laws of slavery regarding their sale and manumission; the third, to ransom them in exchange for goods or prisoners; and fourth, to show favor to them and pardon them. Allah, may he be exalted, says, ‘When you encounter those [infidels] who deny [the Truth=Islam] then strike [their] necks’ (Qur’an sura 47, verse 4)” — Abu’l-Hasan al-Mawardi, al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance), trans. by Dr. Asadullah Yate, (London), Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1996, p. 192.

“115 Nigeria schoolgirls still missing after kidnap,” AFP, April 17:

Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) – A Nigerian school principal on Thursday denied military reports that most of the girls kidnapped by Islamist gunmen were now safe, as parents continued a desperate search for more than 100 children still held captive.

A defence ministry spokesman, Chris Olukolade, claimed on Wednesday that all but eight of the 129 girls kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok area of Borno state earlier in the week were now safe, citing the school’s principal.

But the same principal refuted the claim on Thursday.

“The report from the military is not true,” Asabe Kwambura told AFP in Lagos.

She said the information provided by Borno’s governor Kashim Shettima on Wednesday that only 14 girls had escaped their captors was “correct”.

Later Thursday, Borno’s education commissioner also confirmed that only a handful escaped, although he said the number of those who have fled to safety now stood at 20.

“We have recovered about 20 girls now and they are with us. After they escaped, the girls went to village heads who live close to where they found themselves and the local leaders brought them to us,” said Mallam Inuwa Kubo.

The mass kidnap on Monday sparked global outrage and came just hours after the deadliest attack to hit capital Abuja, where a bomb blast also blamed on Boko Haram killed at least 75 people.

Boko Haram’s extremist uprising, aimed at creating a strict Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has killed thousands since 2009.
Parents of the missing girls swarmed the home of Chibok’s tribal chief early on Thursday, demanding answers after the military claimed the girls were free, residents said….

Borno’s governor Shettima voiced particular outrage at the violence targeting teenage girls.

“In Islam, women and children are spared during war,” said a visibly shaken Shettima.

Not necessarily. As is so often the case, hadiths are available that justify the opposing view. “It is reported on the authority of Sa’b b. Jaththama that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him), when asked about the women and children of the polytheists being killed during the night raid, said: They are from them.” (Muslim 4321) I.e., the children of the polytheists are from the polytheists, and so killing them is permissible.