Leah Sharibu was one of the more than 100 young schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants a year ago, and, to this day, she is still being kept as a slave. Despite a mass release by the ISIS-affiliated terror group just a month after the atrocity, Sharibu was withheld and has remained at the mercy of these murderous Islamic militants ever since.
Boko Haram Demands $275k to Free Heroic Christian Teenager Leah Sharibu
Leah was kidnapped on Feb. 19, 2018, from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi, located in Bulabulinit. At one point, it was reported that Leah managed to escape the clutches of her captors, before being returned to the blood-thirsty group by a group of Fulani herdsmen.
Nigerians in diaspora beg Boko Haram to free Leah Sharibu https://t.co/8mAEq1yRMh pic.twitter.com/1VBoLBxxBP
— NTA News (@NTANewsNow) February 20, 2019
The reason she was not released along with all of her classmates? Because she refused to renounce her Christian faith and embrace the Islamic religion.
Now, there is a fresh campaign arising which aims to see Sharibu returned to her family.
1,772 days of #ChibokGirls' abduction (112 remaining)
365 days of Leah Sharibu's abduction
355 days of Alice L. Nggadah's abduction (humanitarian aid worker with UNICEF)#BringBackOurGirls@MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo @HQNigerianArmy @AsoRock @nassnigeria @bukolasaraki @YakubDogara pic.twitter.com/4kg7mlXVdn
— HERmbassador (@BukkyShonibare) February 19, 2019
“Leah Sharibu has now been in the hands of [a] violent sect for 365 days and we are deeply concerned by the lack of government action to secure her release,” said Chief executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Mervyn Thomas, according to Premier UK. “We continue to call on the government of Nigeria to do everything in its power to expedite the release of this courageous schoolgirl…”
Sharibu’s parents have previously stated that their daughter “is facing a death sentence,” as long as she stays in her current situation. The government responded, assuring the family that everything was being done to help release their daughter.
“Today I spoke with Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, to reiterate our determination to bring her daughter Leah back home safely,” Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted last October. “The thoughts & prayers of all Nigerians are with the Sharibu family, & the families of all those still in captivity. We will do everything we can to bring them back.”
Since then, little progress has been made.
“We call on the government of Nigeria to ensure that the army is sufficiently equipped to combat Boko Haram effectively,” Thomas added, “particularly in light of the surge in activity by both factions, and their threat to undermine the electoral process.”