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Tag: Leah Sharibu

  • IS, Boko Haram threaten to kill health workers, Leah in 24 hours

    Boko Haram terrorists are threatening to kill hostage healthcare workers and Dapchi schoolgirl Leah Sharibu within 24 hours, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said yesterday.

    The international organisation is pleading for mercy and urging the government to intervene speedily.

    Medical workers Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha, working in Rann, Borno State, were kidnapped in March along with ICRC midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, who was killed in September.

    Fifteen-year old schoolgirl Sharibu was abducted in February along with her mates from her school in Dapchi, Yobe State. She was held back while others were released.

    Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammaed led a federal government delegation to visit the families of the abducted health workers and the schoolgirl at the weekend.

    He promised that they would soon be brought back home.

    But yesterday, the ICRC said: “Speed and urgency are critical. A deadline that could result in the killing of another healthcare worker is less than 24 hours away.”

    It did not give further details on the deadline or its conditions.

    There have been no reports of the militants making any demands in exchange for the release of their hostages.

    “We urge you: spare and release these women. They are a midwife, a nurse and a student. Like all those abducted, they are not part of any fight,” Patricia Danzi, director of ICRC operations in Africa, said in the statement.

    “They are daughters and sisters, one is a mother — women with their futures ahead of them, children to raise, and families to return to.”

    Liman was working as a midwife at an ICRC-supported hospital, while Loksha was nurse working with UNICEF.

    The Geneva-based ICRC, which often works behind the scenes for humanitarian goals in war zones, identified the kidnappers as members of ISWA – Islamic State’s off-shoot in West Africa, after previously declining to name the group.

    The organisation did not say how it knew about the 24-hour deadline.

    Islamic State in West Africa split from the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram in 2016 and has killed hundreds of soldiers in attacks in northeastern Nigeria in the past few months, security and military sources have told Reuters.

    Like Boko Haram, ISWA wants to create a separate state in northeast Nigeria that adheres to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

  • We are intensifying efforts to secure release of Leah Sharibu – FG

    The Federal Government said yesterday  it is intensifying efforts and enlisting the support of international community and friendly governments to secure the release of Leah Sharibu and others in captivity.

    Information Minister Lai Mohammed said government has employed both formal and informal channels to ensure that Leah and the two aid workers in captivity are not hurt and are safely reunited with their families.

    Mohammed spoke when he led a high-powered  federal government delegation  to the family of Leah in Dapchi, Yobe State.

    Mohammed  said the delegation was on a mission from the president to reassure the parents that government would leave no stone unturned until Leah was safely reunited with her family.

    But he said   government could not  disclose publicly some of the efforts being made to secure Leah’s  release and others.

    “Government is doing everything possible to ensure that Leah Sharibu and the two aid workers are not hurt and they are returned safely to their families,” he said.

    “We are appealing to them using both formal and informal channels to spare the lives of these innocent people.

    “Mr. President is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure the safe return of Leah Sharibu and all others in captivity, ” the minister said.

    He commended the military and other security agencies for making supreme sacrifices in the Defence of Nigeria and its citizens , adding that they had continued to make the nation proud.

    The minister expressed satisfaction with the resilience of students of Government Technical Girls Secondary School Dapchi, who returned to school to pursue education.

    Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, Leah’s mother who broke in tears, appreciated the federal government and the personal commitment of President Buhari to ensure her daughter’s safe release.

    She appealed to government to further intensify action as the deadline issued by the insurgents got closer.

    “Save the family from this agony, you should not allow anything to happen to Leah,please, ”Rebecca cried out.

    Alhaji Zanna Abacha, Chairman, Dapchi Local Government, commended the efforts of the Buhari administration in rescuing the Dapchi schoolgirls.

    “We are optimistic government would equally secure the safe release of Leah and to be reunited with her family and community.

    “We also appreciate the sense of belonging and assurance accorded to the community by the federal government,” Abacha said.

    The minister of information was accompanied by Khadijah Ibrahim, Minister of State for Foriegn Affairs, and Minister of State for  Industry, Trade and Investment, Aishatu Abubakar, who is overseeing the Ministry of Women Affairs.

  • Religious leaders beg abductors as deadline inches closer

    Religious leaders under the aegis of Interfaith Initiative for Peace (IIP), yesterday, s  appealed to the abductors of Leah Sharibu,the Dapchi schoolgirl, to release her  and abandon their threat of executing her.

    The leaders made the appeal on the sideline of a Peace conference organised by IIP towards the 2019 general elections.

    The IIP was jointly founded by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Saad Abubakar and the Catholic Arch Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan.

    Speaking to newsmen on behalf of the group, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Northern Nigeria, the Rev. Yakubu Pam said the abductors should abandon their threat with a view to saving  Sharibu’s family from the agony of losing a child in such a violent circumstance.

    His words: “We heard that they said next week is their deadline and that is why in this meeting, as we are discussing about the peace of this country, we felt that it is very important and very paramount to talk about this matter.

    “The mother is in agony, the family is in agony and we are appealing to their conscience. Whatever it is, let them be lenient and also allow God to speak to their heart.

    “We are here as religious leaders and traditional rulers to appeal to the conscience of the abductors of these innocent girl.

    “I know too that the mother has also cried, the family members have cried to the abductors of this innocent girl as well as well-meaning citizens of Nigeria have also cried.

    “We want to appeal to them, to please, for the sake of God, release this innocent girl and by doing this, Nigeria will appreciate.”

    Pam asked  government to do whatever it can within its powers to ensure the girl is safely released and reunited with her family.

    Religious leaders and  traditional rulers attended  the conference to discuss peace ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Speaking in the same vein, the Chief Imam of Apo Legislative Quarters’ Mosque in Abuja, Sheikh Mohmamed Khalid appealed to the abductors to have a rethink and revisit their minds on the abducted girl.

    He noted that the abductors of Sharibu are on their own and are not representing Islam.

    He said:”We are here to speak on behalf of the bodies of the two main religions, Islam and Christianity.

    “We want the world to understand that these people that are holding our children and other people in captivity are not representing anything, they are on their own.

    “Islam is not asking them to abduct anybody and we, Muslims, are going to join hands with anybody to do anything possible to secure Nigerians from their agony”.

    He stressed that the abductors of Sharibu have  no basis to hold her captive since her colleagues whom they were abducted together were released.

    Leah’s mother  Sharibu had appealed to her abductors to be compassionate and release her daughter unharmed.

    Leah is the only  Dapchi girl  remaining in captivity,  Boko Haram abducted Leah Sharibu and 109 other girls from their school in Dapchi,Borno State  on February 19, 2018.

    While most of the girls have been released, Leah has remained in captivity, and her abductors have threatened to kill her.

    Similarly, the family of two of the three female aid workers who were abducted in March 2018 had pleaded for the release of the women. Alice Loksha was working with ICRC in Rann, Kalabalge, when she was abducted, while Amina Liman was working with UNICEF also in Rann when she was kidnapped by Boko Haram.

    Also in an interview monitored on NTA on Thursday, Gideon Loksha the younger brother of Alice, pleaded for the release of his sister.

    In a separate interview, Yiakachi Liman, the mother of Amina, made a passionate plea for her release

    The third abducted lady, Saifura Hussaini Ahmed, was killed by her abductors last month.

  • Deadline on Leah Sharibu: Religious leaders appeal to abductors

    Religious leaders under the aegis of Interfaith Initiative for Peace (IIP) on Friday in Abuja appealed to the abductors of Leah Sharibu to release the girl and abandon their threat of executing her.

    The leaders made the appeal on the sideline of a Peace conference organised by IIP towards the 2019 general elections.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports IIP is jointly founded by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Saad Abubakar and the Catholic Arch Bishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan.

    Speaking to newsmen on behalf of the group, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Northern Nigeria, Rev. Yakubu Pam said the abductors should abandon their threat in order the save Sharibu’sfamily from the agony of losing a child in such a violent circumstance.

    “We heard that they said next week is their deadline and that is why in this meeting, as we are discussing about the peace of this country, we felt that it is very important and very paramount to talk about this matter.

    “The mother is in agony, the family is in agony and we are appealing to their conscience. Whatever it is, let them be lenient and also allow God to speak to their heart,” he said

    The cleric added: “We are here as religious leaders and traditional rulers to appeal to the conscience of the abductors of these innocent girl.

    “I know too that the mother has also cried, the family members have cried to the abductors of this innocent girl as well as well meaning citizens of Nigeria have also cried.

    “We want to appeal to them, to please, for the sake of God, release this innocent girl and by doing this, Nigeria will appreciate”.

    Pam called on the government to do whatever it can within its powers to ensure the girl is safely released and reunited with her family.

    He noted that the the leaders of the two major religions in Nigeria, Christianity and Islam, as well as traditional rulers were attending the conference to discuss peace ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Speaking in the same vein, the Chief Imam of Apo Legislative Quarters’ Mosque in Abuja, Sheikh Mohmamed Khalid appealed to the abductors to have a rethink and revisit their minds on the abducted girl.

    He noted that the abductors of Sharibu were on their own and they did not represent Islam.

    “We are here to speak on behalf of the bodies of the two main religions, Islam and Christianity.

    “We want the world to understand that these people that are holding our children and other people in captivity are not representing anything, they are on their own.

    Read Also: Leah Sharibu: Beyond the president’s call

    “Islam is not asking them to abduct anybody and we the Muslims are going to join hands with anybody to do anything possible to secure Nigerians from their agony”.

    He stressed that the abductors of Sharibu had no basis to hold her captive since her colleagues whom they were abducted together were released.

    NAN recalled that the mother of Sharibu, the only one of the kidnapped Dapchi girls who remained in captivity, had appealed to her abductors to be compassionate and release her daughter unharmed.

    She made the appeal on Thursday in an interview monitored on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

    Boko Haram abducted Leah Sharibu and 109 other girls from their school in Dapchi on February 19, 2018.

    While most of the girls have been released, Leah has remained in captivity, and her abductors have threatened to kill her.

    Similarly, the family of two of the three female aid workers who were abducted in March 2018 had pleaded for the release of the women.

    Alice Loksha was working with ICRC in Rann, Kalabalge, when she was abducted, while Amina Liman was working with UNICEF also in Rann when she was kidnapped by Boko Haram.

    Also in an interview monitored on NTA on Thursday, Gideon Loksha the younger brother of Alice, pleaded for the release of his sister.

    In a separate interview, Yiakachi Liman, the mother of Amina, made a passionate plea for her release

    The third abducted lady, Saifura Hussaini Ahmed, was killed by her abductors last month.

  • Leah Sharibu: Beyond the president’s call

    SIR: President Muhammadu Buhari was reported to have spoken on phone with Rebecca Sharibu, mother of Miss Leah Sharibu, the 15-year-old girl captured by Boko Haram insurgents some months ago. It is now more than 200 days since the innocent girl was captured alongside 109 other schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State. During the call to her mother, President Buhari was said to have assured that government would do everything possible to bring her back home.

    Earlier, Mrs. Sharibu and her husband, Nathan, had called on the government to ensure the release of their daughter before the dateline given by the sect, which had threatened to eliminate Leah, should the government fail to meet their demands.

    A terribly worried mother at a press conference in Jos, the Plateau State capital had appealed to the president to do all within his power to stop the terrorists from carrying out their threat by ensuring the safe and prompt release of her daughter.

    Many things have happened to suggest some form of state laxity over Leah’s matter. For instance, the management of information relating to the abducted girls is not good enough. Going by Mrs. Sharibu’s account, the family only gets little information about their daughter from occasional media publications. In a highly religious and ethnic sensitive country like Nigeria, there is the need for openness and better information management over such delicate matters so that, there would not be any iota of doubt and ill-feeling that could portray the state as promoting ethnic or religious agenda. At another time, Leah’s mother had to debunk the rumour that her family took the federal government to court, saying that her family was only interested in their daughter’s release.

    Many examples abound, to show the extent that serious-minded countries can go to protecting the lives of their citizens. One of such is that celebrated case, involving two American journalists, who were arrested by the secretive North Korean regime for crossing the border into the country. Former US President, Barack Obama had to commission former US president, Bill Clinton to hold talks with Kim Jong-il, who eventually pardoned the women initially sentenced to 12 years of hard labour for illegal entry and engaging in ‘hostile acts’. The duo of Euna Lee and Laura Ling regained their freedom less than 24 hours after the former president arrived Pyongyang.

    The federal government should deploy necessary resources, time, equipment, intelligence and tactics to get Leah and others out of bondage as soon as possible. Nigerians desperately need the confidence and assurance that government has the full capacity and capability to defend our territory and that the life of every single citizen counts. No amount of promises can make up for the eventual appearance of the poor girl and others taken by brute force. The telephone call by the president is in order but Nigerians would be happier to see the incarcerated girls hale and hearty.

     

    • Adewale Kupoluyi,

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

     

  • Meduoye to FG: Leah Sharibu must not be killed

    General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria Rev Felix Meduoye has appealed to the Federal Government to rescue Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi Girl in Boko Haram since February at all costs.

    He said it would be a dent on the image of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration if the terrorists carry out the threat to kill her.

    Meduoye spoke with reporters last week ahead of the annual lecture series of the church slated for Tuesday at its National Headquarters, Yaba in Lagos.

    The lecture with the theme “the trying triangle of economy, faith and politics: Looking through the eyes of the needle” will be delivered by Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese Rev Fr Matthew Kukah.

    The lecture, which will be chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is a prelude to the 63rd convention of the church on November 12-18 with the theme Almighty God.

    The convention holds at Foursquare Camp, Km. 75, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ajebo, Ogun State.

    Meduoye said the current administration should stop at nothing to rescue Leah.

    According to him: “If Leah Sharibu is killed, it will be a bad dent. Government should do all that is necessary to bring her back alive because if she’s killed, it will speak volume.”

    The cleric called on Nigerians to keep hope alive and not give up on the nation.

    He said: “God will take Nigeria to the destination. It may take some times but we will get there.

    “Nigeria will certainly attain the New Heights God has purposed for it where its current challenges will be overcome.”

    The cleric said the lecture will be part of the church’s contributions to national discourse and ventilation of ideas, stating that it would offer a platform to proffer suggestions to overcoming challenges facing the nation.

  • Dapchi girls: Leah’s father confirms Buhari’s call to Mrs Sharibu

    The father of Leah Sharibu,  the remaining Dapchi girl, Mr. Nathan Sheribu has confirmed the phone call of President Mohammadu Buhari to the family.

    Mr. Sheribu who spoke with our correspondent on the phone however disclosed as fake the news making the rounds on the social media that his daughter was released from the hands of Boko Haram.

    According to Mr. Sheribu, the President called Leah’s mother on Tuesday while she was in Jos, Plateau State on a visit and assured of the release of our daughter.

    “I can confirm to you that the president called my wife and assured that our daughter Leah, will be released very soon.

    “That phone call has rekindle our hope for the freedom of our daughter especially considering the last threat that Boko Haram made in the last video they released concerning her.

    “We are grateful for the president and we pray that his commitment to secure the freedom of our daughter will be realized soonest. We as a family are also grateful to all Nigerian for their prayers and for you journalists. We cannot thank you enough for all your contributions during this trying times,” Mr. Nathan said.

    Speaking on the rumour of Leah’s release today, Mr. Sharibu said;  I saw the news of Leah’s release on the internet. But that information is fake news. Our prayers are that it should turn to be true.”

  • Information about my daughter’s release is fake – Leah’s father

    The father of Leah Sharibu, the remaining Dapchi Girl, Mr. Nathan Sharibu has confirmed the phone call of President Muhammadu Buhari to the family.

    Mr. Sheribu who spoke with our correspondent on phone however disclosed as fake the news making rounds on the social media that his daughter was released from the hands of Boko Haram.

    Read Also:Dapchi: We don’t have information on Leah Sheribu, says Police

    According to Mr. Sharibu, the President called Leah’s mother on Tuesday while she was in Jos, Plateau state on a visit and assured of the release of our daughter.

    “I can confirm to you that the president called my wife and assured that our daughter Leah will be released very soon.

    “That phone call has rekindled our hope for the freedom of our daughter especially considering the last threat that Boko Haram made in the video they released concerning her.

    “We are grateful for the president and we pray that his commitment to secure the freedom of our daughter will be realized soonest. We as a family are also grateful to all Nigerian for their prayers and for you journalists. We cannot thank you enough for all your contributions during this trying time,” Mr. Nathan said.

    Speaking on the rumour of Leah’s release Friday, Mr. Sharibu said; “I saw the news of Leah’s release on the internet. But that information is fake. It is our prayers that it should turn to out to be true”.

    The Nation recalled that over one hundred school girls were kidnapped by the Boko Haram insurgents form Government Science Technical Secondary, Dapchi, Yobe State.

    While majority of the girls were returned on the 21st March, 2018, Leah Sheribu, the only Christian among the girls was held back by the insurgents on the account of her defiance to renounce her faith.

    Five of the girls however died in custody of the insurgents.

    In the latest run of events, the insurgents in September 2018 threatened the Federal Government to come for Miss Sheribu’s freedom or risk her execution this month after releasing a gruesome video of the murder of the ICRC midwife that was kidnapped in Rann, Borno State.

    Apparently, the threat has compelled the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari to make that all important call to the innocent girl.

  • Buhari assures Leah’s return, speaks with mother

    President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, the mother of Leah sharibu of Leah’s return alongside other captives.

    He disclosed this via his official twitter page on Wednesday after he spoke with Mrs Rebecca Sharibu.

    He also laid emphasis on the unstoppable determination of his administration to see to the return of the girls.

    The President further assured Nigerians that their prayers and good thoughts are surely with Leah and the other girls.

    He said: “Today I spoke with Mrs Rebecca Sharibu, to reiterate our determination to bring her daughter Leah back home safely. 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”

  • Christian leaders demand release of Leah Sharibu, Chibok girls

    A Christian civil society organization, Catalyst for Global Peace and Social Justice Initiative, CPJ, in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has demanded for the release of Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl who, for over seven months, has remained in Boko Haram captivity along with the remaining 112 Chibok girls.

    The group made this plea at a prayer session held for Leah and the abducted girls which took place at the National Christian Center in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Read Also:Anglican primate to FG: Don’t forget other Chibok Girls, Leah Sharibu

    The group expressed its displeasure at the threat by the Boko Haram terrorists to kill Leah Sharibu and two others in their custody, non-release of the remaining Chibok girls, as well as the inability of security agencies to arrest the activities of kidnappers, ritualists, and insurgents.

    The Convener, CPJ Global, Pastor Abraham Aiyedogbon, condemned the abductions by Boko Haram, referring to it as “a show of gutless brutality by a group with a false claim to Islamic principles and endowed with criminal access to weapons of cruelty and mass murder.”

    He called on the federal government to use all its power to ensure the immediate release of Leah Sharibu before the threat deadline approaches to avoid the same situation that happened when Boko Haram murdered Suifura Khorsa, the Red Cross health worker.

    “It is bad enough that following the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls in 2014 during Jonathan’s administration, the Buhari administration would allow a recurrence of that incident with the February 2018 kidnapping of Dapchi girls,” he stated.

    “It is much worse that Leah was held back by her abductors on account of her heroic refusal to renounce her Christian faith when government negotiated the release of the Dapchi girls.

    “It is inexcusable that some eight months after her abduction, the Federal Government has not been able to secure Leah Sharibu’s release.”

    He also called on security agencies to bring kidnappers, ritualists, and terrorists to book, and adjured the FG to ensure that the 2019 elections remain credible, free, and fair.

    The General Overseer of the All Christians Fellowship Mission (ACFM), Rev. William Okoye, who represented the President of CAN, Olasupo Ayokunle, commended the initiative made by the groups to hasten the release of the girls and health workers in captivity and urged the federal government to harken to the cries of Christians.

    He made it clear that as long as the girls remain in captivity, the Independence Day celebrations and the 2019 elections are all in vain.