Christian group marks Leah Sharibu’s 21st birthday with rally

Christians, in their hundreds, in Kaduna, on Tuesday, commemorated the 21st birthday of Leah Sharibu and decried the inability of the Federal Government to secure her release.

Leah Sharibu was one of the 110 female students of the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, who were abducted on February 19, 2018, by Boko Haram terrorists.

While others had been released by the terrorists, Leah was withheld because she refused to denounce her Christian faith.

More than six years after the incident, Leah remained in captivity. She was reported to have been married to more than two commanders of the sect.

On Tuesday, some Christians, under the aegis of the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria, in a peaceful protest, demanded the immediate release of Leah and other schoolchildren still languishing in terrorist camps across the northern states.

The Christian leaders stormed the ECWA Good News Church, along Narayi High Cost, Chikun Local Government Area of the state, where the peaceful protest was held at about 10.00 am

They called on both the federal and state governments to secure the community, so that Leah Sharibu and others could go to school without necessarily ending up at kidnappers’ dens.

The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions, such as “Free Leah Sharibu and other abducted girls now,” “Remember Gonin-Gora 16 kidnapped victims,” “Government, secure our community,” and “Rescue the remaining Chibok girls now,” as well as “Education is not a crime,” among others and chanted solidarity songs.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, speaking shortly after the protest, said it was unfortunate that six years after the incident, Leah Sharibu had yet to be rescued.

Nmadu, who said the protest was organised to commemorate the 21st birthday of Leah Sharibu, called on the government to rescue Leah Sharibu and other abducted schoolgirls still in terrorist dens across the country, especially in the North.

According to him, it was unacceptable that Nigerians were no longer safe in their homes as they were being abducted by bandits.

He said, “When it started in Chibok, we thought that was the end, but it keeps recurring now and then. Now, many schoolgirls are still in captivity.

“This morning, we have all come out to commemorate the 21st birthday of Leah Sharibu, who has become the face of this campaign and many other campaigns for safe school. We, therefore, want to wish her a happy birthday, even in captivity.

“But then, we also want to entreat the government to do the needful. Nigeria is ebbing out. Nigeria is dying. We are almost surrendering to insecurity and bandits, kidnappers and all sorts of evil people in our land. It is time to stop them.

“Our children must go to school. We must stay safe in our homes. Our homes are no longer safe. Our roads are no longer safe.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to up his game in tackling insecurity.

“President Bola Tinubu. Please, up your game, save lives. People are dying in their hundreds every day. This is unacceptable to us as citizens of this country. Security is our right.

“Therefore, we hope that the government will listen and do the needful. Save our schools. Save our girls. It is not a crime to go to school and because they have chosen to go school, it is the responsibility of the government to secure our schools and protect the lives and property of the citizens of this country,” he said.

Also speaking, the Secretary of the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Okunlola, appealed to the government to protect Nigerians.

According to the CAN’s scribe, the Nigerian government must expedite action to rescue Leah Sharibu and other schoolchildren.

“Nigeria must be protected. Nigeria must be secure. It’s the primary responsibility of the government to protect lives and property.

“Therefore, we are calling on all state governments, the Federal Government and the National Security Adviser to rise to the occasion, and expedite action on the release of our abducted girls.

“This is the only thing that will make Nigeria the giant brother of Africa, not in an unsafe or insecure environment. Let the government do the needful so that we can be peaceful in Nigeria,” he said.

The Legal Adviser and the Media Officer of the CSW-N, Braimoh Martins and Reuben Buhari, respectively, said the Christian organisation specialised in speaking up against the violation of religious rights across the North.

Martins claimed that apart from Leah Sharibu, there were well over 400 students in the Boko Haram captivity and the dens of herdsmen and militia groups across the North.

“We are part of the organisations that have been advancing the cause of freedom for all Christians in Nigeria. We work very extensively in all the 19 northern states as our states of focus, because of the increase in the persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria.

“And, by extension, we also do advocacy and stakeholders’ partnership with other states in Nigeria. It is very important for us, especially seeing the situation of insecurity in Nigeria, and how our communities are becoming unsafe and porous to banditry and schools have become targets of militia activities, bandit attacks and kidnapping.

“Today, being the 14th day of May 2024, we gather in commemoration of Leah Sharibu, who was also among other secondary schoolgirls kidnapped in Dapchi in Yobe State.”

Martins called on the government at all levels to use the executive powers to rescue those girls from the hands of the abductors