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Boko Haram: Parents Beg Buhari For Leah Sharibu’s Release After 1377 Days

Published

4 years ago

February 19, 2022

Exactly four years (1377 days) after being held captive in Boko Haram captivity, parents of Leah Sharibu on Saturday continued their demand on the Federal Government to fulfill its promise and secure her freedom from the insurgents.

While demanding the safe release of their daughter, Nathan and Rebecca Sharibu said they do not want to believe that the recent promises by the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), “are as empty as those that have been made before.”

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 were released by the terrorists following negotiations, Leah, then 14 years, is still being held captive because she refused to renounce her Christian faith.

The traumatised parents made their submissions in a statement titled: “An Appeal”, signed by their Spokesperson and President of Leah Foundation, Dr. Gloria Puldu.

She said, “Nathan and Rebecca Sharibu hereby call upon the leaders of Nigeria to expedite the safe release of our daughter, Leah Sharibu, who has been held hostage against her will in the past four years.

“Specifically, we address our most urgent appeals to General Farouk Yahaya, Chief of Army Staff, who only recently went on public record assuring the nation that Leah would soon be rescued. Nearly one month has now passed since General Yahaya’s statement, and nothing has changed.

“As a family, we do not want to be quick to make public statements or accusations, especially when such prominent military leaders have so assuredly promised us that Leah would be returned to us, and that they truly were concerned for her welfare.

“When we hear such promises, hopes are raised beyond any ability to describe or put into words, and we can only imagine that our long nightmare is coming to an end and that soon we will be rejoicing as we embrace our beloved daughter and weep tears of joy.

“We also imagine how grateful we will be to the Buhari administration on that day, and to the tens and hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and people from around the world who have upheld us, advocated for Leah, and spent many hours in prayer, writing letters, or speaking out on her behalf.

“We do not want to believe that the recent promises are as empty as those that have been made before. When we see or hear reports of other hostages being released or rescued, we do feel joy for them and their families. But it is also hard for us to be selfless, and not ask ‘Why not Leah?’

“1377 days have passed since that terrible afternoon of February 19, 2018 when Leah was taken hostage from the Government Girl’s Science and Technical College located in Dapchi; days of holding our breath, clinging to hope, and sleepless dreams.

“How can our leaders go about their days or sleep easily at night, knowing that the safety and security of our people is lessening every day, not just in Northern Nigeria but even in the most Southern parts of our country? What is the legacy that General Buhari and his cabinet and ministers are writing for future generations to study and read? Will our leaders be remembered, not for what they have done, but what they have failed to do?”

PUNCH.

Headline

Christian Genocide’: Trump Designates Nigeria As Country Of Particular Concern

Published

19 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

United States President, Donald Trump, has named Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” citing what he described as a growing threat to Christianity in the nation.

In a statement on Truth Social on Friday, Trump claimed thousands of Christians have been killed by radical Islamist groups and urged U.S. lawmakers to investigate the situation urgently.

Trump maintained that the United States would not stand by while Christians in Nigeria and other parts of the world face persecution, adding that America remains ready to protect Christian populations globally.

He said, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.

“When Christians, or any such group, is slaughtered like is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 Worldwide), something must be done! I am asking Congressman Riley Moore, together with Chairman Tom Cole and the House Appropriations Committee, to immediately look into this matter, and report back to me.

“The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

His declaration follows increasing criticism from U.S. politicians and public figures who claim that Christians in Nigeria are facing systematic violence.

Recently, US comedian and HBO host Bill Maher accused Islamist groups of carrying out a genocide against Christians in the country.

“I’m not a Christian, but they are systematically killing the Christians in Nigeria. They’ve killed over a hundred thousand since 2009. They’ve burnt 18,000 churches. These are the Islamists, Boko Haram. This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza.

“They are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country,” Maher said.

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Similarly, US Senator Ted Cruz claimed that Nigerian government officials were “ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists.”

Cruz also lamented that Christians in the country were being targeted for their faith by terrorist groups and “are being forced to submit to sharia law and blasphemy laws across Nigeria.”

He said it was “long past time to impose real costs on the Nigerian officials who facilitate these activities,” adding that he had introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act to the US Senate to sanction such officials.

In the same vein, Riley Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd District in the US Congress, wrote to the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, urging him to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

Moore also called for a suspension of arms sales and technical support to Nigeria until the government demonstrates commitment to ending what he described as “a reign of persecution and slaughter against Christians.”

However, both the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Presidency have dismissed the allegations of a Christian genocide.

While CAN described the reports as false narratives peddled by foreign agents, the Presidency insisted that there is no religious war taking place in the country.

Headline

Trump Breaks Silence On ‘Christian Genocide’ In Nigeria

Published

19 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

In a stark rebuke to months of escalating violence, President Donald Trump has declared Nigeria a “country of particular concern” over what he described as an “existential threat” to Christianity, accusing radical Islamists of orchestrating a mass slaughter of believers in the West African nation.

The announcement, posted on Truth Social on Friday, marks the administration’s most direct intervention yet in a crisis that has claimed thousands of lives this year alone, reigniting debates over US policy toward religious persecution abroad.

Full statement below;

“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a “COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN” — But that is the least of it.

Headline

Tanzania Protesters Loot Singer Juma Jux Fashion Store

Published

24 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Tanzanian protesters have reportedly looted singer Juma Jux’s fashion store.

Unrest erupted on Thursday after a disputed general election marked by disqualification and detention of the key opposition figures in Tanzania.

The protesters are demanding cancellation of the election results, alleging irregularities in the country’s presidential election.

Amid the development, a controversial post by an X user Bolaji Fesomade alleged that the singer store valued at $780 million has been set ablaze by protesters.

Reacting to the report, Juma Jux’s wife, Priscilla Ojo on her Snapchat account, dismissed the claims, noting that the store was looted and not burnt.

She simply wrote; “Looted not Burnt”.