Remembering Leah Sharibu as she clocks two years in custody

There are 3.2 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, out of which 60 percent are girls. Against all odds, Leah Sharibu and the 109 other girls who were kidnapped from Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, were in school so as not to increase this number. Unfortunately, on February 19, 2018, Boko Haram whisked them away from their hostel.

The incident caused many parents to withdraw their daughters from school, while some of the girls were afraid to return to the institution.

On March 21, 2018, the federal government secured the release of 104 of the girls after negotiating with the insurgent group. They were subsequently put through rehabilitation and reunited with their family. One of the freed girls said five of her colleagues died in captivity. The government is yet to make any official statement regarding this claim or clarify the whereabouts of the five girls.

One girl has, however, remained in captivity, Sharibu, the only Christian among the girls. The insurgents reportedly said they kept her back because she refused to denounce her Christian faith.

Born on May 14, 2003, Sharibu, who was 14 years old when she was abducted, spent her 15th and 16th birthdays in the den of the insurgents.

Wednesday makes it exactly two years since Sharibu was taken into captivity and different narratives about her have been told. No one knows for sure, what fate has befallen the teenager.

DEAD, ALIVE, ENSLAVED OR MARRIED OFF?

In October 2018, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, executed Hauwa Liman, an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and vowed to keep Sharibu as “a slave for life”.

“From today Sharibu and Ngaddah are now our slaves,” ISWAP said in a statement.

“Based on our doctrines, it is now lawful for us to do whatever we want to do with them.”

In July 2019, Sharibu was alleged to have been killed by the insurgents. A Boko Haram victim identified as Grace, who spoke from captivity, had said she did not want a similar fate with Sharibu and those killed in captivity.

She had appealed to the federal government and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to assist in securing her release.

The federal government, however, refuted the claim, maintaining that Sharibu was alive and that it was doing all it could to secure her release.

Ahmad Salkida, journalist with access to the insurgents, said in January that Sharibu had given birth while in captivity.

She was said to have been impregnated by one of the commanders of the sect.

“Why, I wonder, do we pretend that leaving Leah behind won’t result in pregnancy? Since the terror group announced condemning her to slavery, is there any step or collective focus on preventing similar occurrences? She’s a mother, but I don’t know about the gender of the baby,” Salkida had said.

In a statement by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, marking the second anniversary of the Dapchi schoolgirls, Buhari said his administration will intensify its effort to see that Sharibu and all other captives in Boko Haram custody are freed.

“Two years ago, 110 innocent children from the town of Dapchi were taken, against their will, by the terrorists of Boko Haram. 107 survived the ordeal. Today all but one – Leah Sharibu – are returned to their families,” Buhari had said.

“Now aged 16, Leah remains in the hands of the terrorists – they say because she refuses to renounce her Christian faith.

“This government continues and seeks to secure the release of all children and captives of terrorists – and we do so regardless of their creed or the name of their creator.

“As we redouble our efforts for Leah’s return, we can never allow the terrorists to divide us – Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Christian. We are all Sons of Abraham. And all Nigerians have the same worth and rights before the law, and before God.”

Sharibu’s family members and her loved ones can’t wait to have her back.