Leah Sharibu's Mother Joins London Protest On Second Anniversary Of Abduction

Rebecca Sharibu, the mother of 16 year-old schoolgirl Leah Sharibu, joined a protest outside the Nigerian High Commission in London, organised by CSW to mark the second anniversary of her daughter’s abduction and calling on the Nigerian government to do everything in its power to secure her release.

Leah Sharibu was the sole Christian among 110 schoolgirls abducted by the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram from their school in Dapchi, Yobe state on 19 February 2018. While her surviving classmates returned a month later following government negotiations, she was denied her freedom for refusing to convert as a precondition for release.

Speaking outside the Nigerian High Commission, Rebecca Sharibu said: “Today Leah has spent two years in captivity. We don’t know where Leah is, we don't know the condition or the situation that Leah is in. I want to thank you once again for the encouragement I receive from all of you, and plead with you to continue praying until Leah is out. I'm pleading with [the UK] government and with our Nigerian government, with President Buhari... to fulfil his promises that he has made to me personally, that he is going to rescue Leah and ensure that she is released, and not just Leah, all the others in captivity.”

Mrs Sharibu, accompanied by CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas, subsequently delivered a petition with 12,132 signatures to the High Commission, calling on the Nigerian government to take action to help Leah.

Eritrean gospel singer Helen Berhane, who spent two and a half years imprisoned by Eritrean authorities in a shipping container on account of her faith, sang Days of Elijah, while Pastor Ayo Adedoyin, the Executive Director of the International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ); and Pastor Fred Williams of Spirit Life Missions prayed for Leah’s release.

Pastor Fred Williams, also speaking outside the High Commission, highlighted the wider situation in northern Nigeria: “The number of kidnappings in northern Nigeria is not reducing, it is increasing and they are targeting Christians... Every part of northern Nigeria now is being covered by this trend. This is not going away... What is happening in Nigeria is going to spread, its not going to stop in northern Nigeria, it has already spread to other parts. We need to respond to this global issue, we need to be proactive.”

In October 2018 ISWAP declared that Ms Sharibu and Christian nurse Alice Loksha Ngaddah, who was abducted on 1 March 2018 during an attack on Rann, would be enslaved for life, and that it was now “lawful” for the terrorists to “do whatever we want with them.” Most recently in January 2020 one of five aid workers released by ISWAP reported that Leah was alive and well.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW has been outside this High Commission many times in the last two years. We've spent days and days out here. We've celebrated Leah's birthday out here on two occasions, and we will continue until we see Leah released. We will stand with [Rebecca] until we see Leah released. We believe that the Nigerian Government and President Buhari is not doing enough, in fact we don't believe they're doing anything, even though President Buhari personally promised Rebecca that he would get Leah released. That was eighteen months ago, and nothing has happened. So that's why we're here today, we're here to protest and say to the Nigerian government we want to see Leah released. We stand in solidarity with Rebecca... and we will continue to do that.”

Sirjamo:
Exactly what Boko haram wants. As you continue protesting all over the World, you are giving boko haram free publicity

BH has now realize that all they need to do to gain more popularity is to kidnap 100 Muslim, 1 Christian; release the Muslims after some time, keep the Christian and boom, they'd be all over the news more than usual.

Blue3k:


Internet commando go rescue her daughter then she wont be protesting. The government has failed to so along with the many other captives held by the technically defeated jihadist. Lol boko haram has been using this strategy for half a decade. This isnt new information for them.

Sirjamo:
Five girls died the night she was kidnapped, her life is not more precious than theirs and nobody is talking about them because they were Muslims.

Whether you like it or not, the numerous useless protests and tones of lies your Christian leaders have been spreading around the world about that girl's abduction has made her a valuable commodity to boko haram, and they would hang on to her for as long as possible!!!

yanabasee:
I just hope that her mother isn't monetizing on her daughter's abduction....

yanabasee:



You are gullibly insane to believe that her mother wouldn't monetize her abduction..... You must be a zombie.

But I pray she isn't monetizing this whole thing.

Sirjamo:
Five girls died the night she was kidnapped, her life is not more precious than theirs and nobody is talking about them because they were Muslims.

Whether you like it or not, the numerous useless protests and tones of lies your Christian leaders have been spreading around the world about that girl's abduction has made her a valuable commodity to boko haram, and they would hang on to her for as long as possible!!!

Nigerianization:


When MURIC consistently claim that Muslim women and girls not allowed to wear the hijab - for specific reasons - is a war against Islam, you lots clap for him. How then can Christians not believe the fact that the desire of your brethren to 'dip the Quran into the Atlantic ocean' and exalt Islam above other religion is a war against the church. Otherwise, why was the ONLY Christian girl among them not released??

Shekau is an Islamic scholar and more knowledgeable than many of you
Al Baghdadi has PhD in Islamic studies.

You think you know Islam more than them??
Abeg park well

The truth is that Christians are endangered species in northern Nigeria and your consistent denials of this fact shows the wonderful role you and your lots are playing as online soldiers in this warfare.
Tell me what you will feel if an imam is beheaded in the south because he refused to deny his Muslim faith.

I put it to you all jihadists in Nigeria - both active and passive - that no Muslim has been killed by Christians in Nigeria on account of his faith

If you prove me wrong, I will apologize.

yanabasee:
I just hope that her mother isn't monetizing on her daughter's abduction....