‘I finally got my freedom, mama’ — Leah Sharibu visits mum in dream

Rebecca Sharibu, mother of Leah Sharibu, says her daughter appeared to her in a dream.

Leah was one of the 112 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents from Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state.

While five were reported to have died, the insurgents released others, but Leah was held back for refusing to denounce her faith.

Rebecca told Daily Trust that she was reunited with Leah in her dream.

She said her daughter appeared to her at midnight, in a red dress and hugged her with a broad smile plastered across her face.

Rebecca said Leah narrated her ordeal in captivity. “I finally got my freedom Mama,” she quoted Leah to have said in the dream.

“Mama, I really suffered in [Boko Haram’s] hands. We sleep on leaves and barely take baths, but they fed me well.”

Rebecca said she was sad to realise it was only a dream when she woke up.

“Yes, we hugged each other very tight in such a way that no force could separate us before narrating her ordeals to me,” she said.

“Those minutes of excitement nearly took away all my sorrow.

“Sadly, it was a dream. I cried when I opened my eyes and realized it. I tried going back to sleep for more, but I couldn’t,” she said.

“I cried throughout that night and prayed that God should make it reality.”

Rebecca said Leah will not return to her school in Dapchi when she regains her freedom.

She said no official from the state or federal governments, or even the school principal, has visited her home since the incident.

She complained that the government has failed to keep the family abreast of developments regarding Leah.

“I’ve already transferred her brother to a school in Jos. She is the only one I am waiting for now,” she said.

“It’s very sad and frustrating, each time we hear something from the media about our daughter. Recently, government said that negotiation for my daughter’s release is complicated.

“As parents, we should be informed of any development before going to press.

“The government’s way of relaying the information is making me angrier, and more frightened by the day.”

Leah turned 15 on May 14, a birthday she marked without family and friends, as she remains a prisoner of one of the world’s top terrorist groups.