Leah Sharibu clocks 16 in Boko Haram captivity

Leah Sharibu Dapchi schoolgirl

Leah Sharibu, a female student of Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, kidnapped on February 19, 2018, has clocked 16 in Boko Haram captivity.

Dapchi community is in Bursari local government area of Yobe State.

Over 110 students of the school were kidnapped on that day.

But while all the other girls were released, Sharibu has been held back since then for refusing to denounce her Christian faith.

The Federal Government has repeatedly assured that Sharibu is still alive.

“It’s absolutely fake news. There is nothing like that,” information minister, Lai Mohammed had said at a press briefing in Ilorin, Kwara State, on February 10.

In a statement by the president’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, in April, the president said that Sharibu’s return was being hindered by fear on the part of her abductors.

“On Leah Sharibu’s abduction, the interlocutors have reported encouraging progress so far.

“The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants.

“They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government,” the statement said.

About 112 Chibok girls remaining from 276 who were kidnapped from a school in Chibok local government area of Borno State on April 14, 2014, by Boko Haram insurgents are also still being expected to be rescued.