The National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) on Thursday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to do everything possible to ensure the release of Leah Sharibu.
Mrs Gloria Laraba Shoda, the President, NCWS, said that Leah Sharibu was the only Dapchi schoolgirl yet to be released by the Boko Haram insurgents 47 days after the other schoolgirls were released.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 110 female students from Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe, were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on Feb. 19, 2018.
The insurgents released 104 of them to their families and school authorities on March 21, after they had spent one month and two days with their abductors.
They, however, kept Leah Sharibu in their custody, alleging that she refused to convert from Christianity to Islam.
The NCWS president said the Federal Government’s rapid response that ensured the release of 104 other kidnapped female students was very commendable.
She, however, added that the delay in releasing the only Christian girl among the 104 captives had become very worrisome.
According to Shoda, it has been 47 days since the release of the other 104 girls, but no news of Leah Sharibu.
“As mothers, the council is worried not knowing what her condition is and Nigerian women are praying to God to keep her safe.
“I want to believe that we all have freedom of worship. For a girl of 15 years to continuously be held captive for holding on to her faith is worrisome and I fear for this country.
“We are not forgetting the over 200 Chibok girls that were abducted in 2014 and over 100 that are yet to be released.
“This is not good for our country. We as citizens should have faith in our government to ensure our security.
“We are therefore calling on government at all levels to work harder to ensure the release of our daughters’’ she said. (NAN)