UNITED NATIONS: Top UN officials have expressed their outrage and horror at the inexcusable a statement made by the Nigerian rebel group leader who claims to have kidnapped over 200 school girls now, referring to the girls as “slaves”, says it plans to sell them “in the market” and “marry them off”.

The United Nations human rights office castigated Boko Haram which saying what it was planning to do to the kidnapped girls could “constitute a crime against humanity”.

“We are deeply concerned about the outrageous claims made in a video believed to be by the leader of Boko Haram in Nigeria yesterday,” Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

“[We] warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law,” the OHCHR spokesperson warned.

“These can, under certain circumstances, constitute crimes against humanity.”

He added that there was no statute of limitations for such grave international crimes, including slavery and sexual slavery, “Anyoneresponsible could be arrested and prosecuted at any time in the future”.