Nathan Sharibu, father of the teenage Christian girl, Leah, one of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls, says he received the news of his daughter’s report
Nathan Sharibu, father of the teenage Christian girl, Leah, one of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls, says he received the news of his daughter’s reported motherhood status while still under captivity with all pleasure, adding that, “I remain undaunted because, if that is the will of God; then, I receive it with all pleasure.”
He said despite the psychological trauma occasioned by the news report of his daughter now being a mother, Sharibu added he would not allow it to stop him from going to church. Sharibu, however, said he was saddened about the “conspiracy” over his daughter’s whereabouts.
This, he argued, was because neither the Federal Government nor Ahmad Salkida, who allegedly broke the news, could claim ignorance of his daughter’s whereabouts.
He said, “I have been receiving calls from last night, if that is the will of God, it is well. Whatever they have done I receive it with all pleasure. The government knows Leah’s whereabouts.
“I repeat it; the government knows Leah’s whereabouts, as well as Ahmed Salkida. But whatever it is, I don’t have anything more to say, than to receive it (the condition of Leah) with all pleasure.”
Salkida, a journalist known to have very reliable sources within the Islamist Boko Haram terrorist group, had revealed that Leah, still under the captivity of the group, is now a mother. Salkida, who is in exile in Dubai following Nigerian military’s allegation that he had ties with the Islamist sect, made the disclosure to the President of the EYN (Church of the Brethren), Reverend Joel Billi.
However, family members of Leah have described reports that she had a baby in captivity as a rumour. A senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, Dr. Gloria Puldu, who speaks for the family, said that all they wanted was to have Leah home alive, with or without a baby, Punch reports.
“The most important thing is that we want her to be alive. And if she is alive, we will praise God for that. They should release her, despite whatever condition she is in. That is all; it doesn’t matter whether she is pregnant or with a baby. Is it not better to have your child alive? So, it doesn’t matter, all we are interested in is her life and safety,” Puldu said.
Puldu also noted that they had unconfirmed information that Leah was still alive. She said, “I spoke with Jennifer, who was in Boko Haram captivity, last Monday or Tuesday. I was able to speak with her one-on-one and she told us that she did not see Leah in captivity, but she was with Alison Gada, who informed her that Leah was alive, healthy and not dead.”
Leah was among 110 schoolgirls abducted on February 19, 2018 by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi in Yobe State. In March 2018, the Federal Government announced the insurgents had returned 106 of the kidnapped schoolchildren but that Leah was not among them. It was reported that Leah, who was 14 years old at the time she was kidnapped, was not released because she refused to convert to Islam.
