National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) yesterday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to do everything possible to ensure the release of Leah Sharibu. The NCWS President, Mrs. Gloria Laraba Shoda, said that Leah was the only Dapchi schoolgirl yet to be released by the Boko Haram members 51 days after the other schoolgirls were released.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 110 female students from Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, were abducted by Boko Haram on February 19.
The insurgents released 104 of them to their families and school authorities on March 21, after they had spent one month and two days with their abductors. They, however, kept Leah in their custody, alleging that she refused to convert from Christianity to Islam.
The NCWS president said the Federal Government’s rapid response that ensured the release of 104 other kidnapped female students was very commendable. She, however, said that the delay in releasing the only Christian girl among the 104 captives had become very worrisome. According to Shoda, it has been 51 days since the release of the other 104 girls, but no news of Leah.
She said: “As mothers, the council is worried, not knowing what her condition is, and Nigerian women are praying to God to keep her safe. I want to believe that we all have freedom of worship.”
Comments
