Displaying items by tag: Leah Sharibu

The Nigerian government says efforts are under way to release Leah Sharibu, the Christian teenager who was one of 110 girls abducted in 2018 by the Boko Haram group ISWAP. Her classmates were released, but Leah refused to convert to Islam and was declared a ‘slave for life’ by ISWAP while remaining in captivity. The federal government announced it is using the military to ensure Leah and all captives regain their freedom, and armed groups operating in Nigeria’s northwest are now called terrorists. Reacting to the announcement, Dr Kathaza Gondwe, advocacy director for CSW, said, ‘It is belated news as Nigeria’s president has been promising Leah's parents since 2018 that he would work quickly to ensure her release. But it's a welcomed development. We can only pray the government will honour this commitment.’ CSW believes that categorising ISWAP as terrorists will help in how the armed forces deal with them.

Leah Sharibu was 14 when she was abducted in 2018 by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). She defied the terrorist group, a splinter group of Boko Haram, when they abducted 110 girls from school. ISWAP released 104 of them a month later; five died, and Leah was the only one not freed because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. President Buhari pledged to secure her freedom during his visit to the USA. In London, he told the Archbishop of Canterbury he is working quietly to free her. In January 2020 there were reports that Leah had had a baby. In March 2021, rumours surfaced that she had given birth to her second child. Her parents said that the government had not helped them secure Leah’s release; they rest their hope in God, not government. Her mother Rebecca said, ‘By the grace of God. I have not lost hope because God is in control and people are praying.’

More than a month after a video which implied that kidnapped Christian teenager Leah Sharibu had been killed, a presidential spokesman, citing intelligence from security agencies, released a statement stating that the government is negotiating with terrorists for the release of Leah and other captives. He said that lines of communication remain open with Boko Haram kidnappers, now called the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), to secure their release. The government understands how difficult these times are for the family and friends of the kidnapped girls, and is pursuing many options to ensure their safe return. However, the administration does not encourage payment of ransom to secure the release of captives. For this reason, he said, the government has not rushed to yield to the demands of the terrorist group. However, many no longer believe that the government is genuinely working to free the captives.

On 19 February CSW organised a protest outside Nigeria’s high commission in London, commemorating one year since the abduction of Leah Sharibu. 14-year-old Leah was the sole Christian among 110 girls abducted from their school in Dapchi by a Boko Haram offshoot. While all the other classmates were released the next month following government negotiations, Leah was denied her freedom as she refused to convert as a precondition for her freedom. She has been held in captivity ever since. In September 2018, Boko Haram issued a final ultimatum on her life after executing a fellow hostage. She was eventually spared, but only after the group executed another hostage and declared that Leah and an abducted humanitarian named Alice Ngaddah were to be their slaves for life.

On 18 July a protest was organised by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) outside the Nigerian High Commission in London, to mark 150 days since 15-year-old Leah Sharibu was kidnapped by Boko Haram in Yobe state, Nigeria. Leah was one of 110 schoolgirls abducted on 19 February from the a local government college. Five died during the ordeal and the rest were freed, but Leah remained in captivity as she refused to renounce her faith. CSW’s CEO Mervyn Thomas said, ‘It's very important to remember that this is not just a protest - this is prayer and protest. CSW believes in those two things going together. So we're hoping first of all that God will answer prayer, but we're also hoping that the Nigerian government will take action.’