Leah Sharibu’s Parents Break Silence On Alleged New Marriage Status

The parents of Leah Sharibu have spoken about the alleged new marital status of their daughter.

According to them, the news of their daughter divorcing an ISWAP commander and remarrying another is confusing and disheartening.

Naija News reports that Leah Sharibu was one of the 110 female students of the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State,  abducted on February 19, 2018, by Boko Haram terrorists.

While others were freed by the terrorists after negotiations, Leah, then 14 years old, is still held captive because she refused to renounce her Christian faith.

Recent speculation, however, emerged earlier in the week, claiming that Leah Sharibu, held by members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has “remarried” another terrorist commander, Ali Abdallah, in the Lake Chad area after purportedly securing a divorce from the first ‘husband’ forced on her.

However, relating to the issue, the spokesperson for the parents and President of the Leah Foundation, Dr Gloria Puldu, in a statement sighted by The Punch, said the news of Leah who reportedly had two children and had married another man after reportedly divorcing her first husband was worrisome.

Puldu wondered why they should believe unsubstantiated rumours and scanty information that “local security sources made this revelation in a report.”

The statement by Puldu reads, “Recent reports on Leah Sharibu, the young girl taken captive by ISWAP terrorists over five years ago, is both confusing and disheartening. It’s confusing because there have been unsubstantiated rumours and scant information regarding the whereabouts of Leah. There were a few reports by those who were released or had escaped claiming that she might have been married off and given birth to two children. No pictures, audio, or video has ever surfaced, and, If anything, these were assumptions based on her age and condition of captivity.

“Why should we believe, “Local security sources made this revelation in a report”? If they have intelligence on Leah’s whereabouts and any information, then where are the Nigerian armed forces? Why isn’t the government involved in securing her release?

“It’s disheartening because only so often do we hear anything on Leah Sharibu. On the two-year anniversary of Leah’s capture, President Buhari said that “…we redouble our efforts for Leah’s return; we can never allow the terrorists to divide us…”. Nathan and Rebecca Sharibu are asking what happened to that promise. Buhari left office without fulfilling that promise of rescuing our daughter, Leah. Our family remains grief-stricken by our daughter’s capture and ongoing imprisonment, even as the Nigerian government has been unsuccessful in securing her release.

“In March 2020, Leah’s father, Nathan Sharibu, pleaded, ‘I have not heard anything from federal, state and local governments since my daughter was abducted. I am even confused now. I need your assistance to put pressure on the Federal Government to do something about the release of my daughter.’’

 “About a week ago, we woke up to the news of students abducted from Zamfara. This is very shameful and disheartening to Nigerian parents. Despite the terrible economic hardship, parents still have to grapple with the safety of their children in school. We are calling again with a very strong and loud voice on the current government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to please wake up to its very primary responsibility of safety and protection of the lives and properties of Nigerian citizens.

“We demand the rescue of Leah Sharibu and all others who had in captivity in the hands of terrorists.”

Puldu also called on President Bola Tinubu to secure Leah’s freedom because former President Muhammadu Buhari did not act on his promise to free Leah Sharibu two years after her abduction.

They also alleged that the international community had abandoned Leah and others still being held captive.

“The global community seems to have forgotten Leah’s plight (and other girls like her) and allowed Nigeria to devolve into the chaos that it is currently in. No one is demanding accountability or transparency from Nigeria but continues to give billions of dollars in aid and relief. Leah remains a captive to a militant religious group within Nigeria without any apparent knowledge of her whereabouts”, the statement added.