Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl among 112 students kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in Yobe, has given birth in captivity.
In a tweet confirming the development, Ahmad Salkida, journalist with access to the insurgents, said Sharibu is now a mother, but that he was yet to know the gender of the baby.
“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 tweeted on Sunday.
A source who also confirmed the development to TheCable said Sharibu was “impregnated by one of the commanders of the sect, and she was delivered of a baby four days ago”.
Sharibu was abducted alongside other girls from Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19, 2018.
The girls who were captured were subsequently released, except five who reportedly died in captivity, but Sharibu was held back for “refusing to renounce her faith”.
In August 2018, TheCable obtained a recording of Sharibu begging the president to come to her rescue and reunite her with her family.
She had said: “I am Leah Sharibu, the girl that was abducted in GGSS Dapchi. I am calling on the government and people of goodwill to intervene to get me out of my current situation.
“I also plead to the members of the public to help my mother, my father, my younger brother and relatives. Kindly help me out of my predicament. I am begging you to treat me with compassion, I am calling on the government, particularly, the president to pity me and get me out of this serious situation. Thank you.”
Shortly after the other girls were released, President Muhammadu Buhari promised that his government would not abandon Sharibu.
…father responds to baby reports
Nathan Sharibu, the father of abducted Dapchi Schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, has reacted to reports making the rounds that his daughter has given birth to a baby boy.
Leah Sharibu who was fourteen years old at the time she was captured along with 109 of her schoolmates, was reported to have been married off and impregnated by a Boko Haram top commander. A report by Sahara Reporter said she gave birth ‘a few weeks ago’.
Reacting on Sunday, Mr Nathan Sharibu described the report as rumours.
Nathan Sharibu said he would rather not make any comment on the issue, adding that his primary concern is to see his daughter return alive, Channels TV reported.
Leah Sharibu was kidnapped alongside 109 of her schoolmates on February 19, 2018, at 5:30 pm. They were kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College (GGSTC).
The event took place a few weeks after Nigerian Army soldiers removed a military checkpoint from Dapchi in Yobe state.
However, on 21 March 2018, the Federal government of Nigeria announced that Boko Haram terrorists returned 106 of the kidnapped children, including 104 girls who went to school, one girl who did not and a boy. Leah Sharibu wasn’t released and her parents told Agence France-Presse that the group would only release her if she converted to Islam.
Fani-Kayode reacts to news of child birth, conversion to Islam
Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, on Sunday reacted to reports that abducted Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu has converted to Islam and had given birth for a Boko Haram Commander.
Fani-Kayode expressed the belief that Sharibu was been demeaned, adding that the abducted schoolgirl would rather die than be converted.
Fani-Kayode in a tweet wrote: “I do not believe that Leah Sharibu has converted to Islam. They are trying to demean her & remove her status as a hero.
“That girl would rather die than convert to Islam. She remains a hero of the Christian faith & if she is dead then she is a martyr. Whichever way she wins!”, he added
Pregnancy known since last year – Security sources
Nigeria’s security services in negotiations with Boko Haram for the freedom of Leah Sharibu, knew she was pregnant since last year.
PR Nigeria, in a report today claimed that the security agencies were aware of her condition and that she was impregnated by a Boko Haram commander as they worked towards her safe release from the custody of the terrorists.
Against the narrative that the Dapchi schoolgirl abducted in February 2018 from her school, along with 110 other girls, was raped and forced to convert into Islam, PR Nigeria claimed Leah was not forcefully converted to a sex slave but wooed by one of top Boko Haram members.
“Leah, the sole Christian among the initially abducted 110 students of Government Girls’ Science and Technical College Dapchi, Yobe State, was ‘hypnotized’ by the ‘warm reception’ and ‘friendly manner’ she was being treated by the BH members who kept her in hostage”, it said, quoting anonymous sources.
“The insurgents and their commanders have since devised a clever, deceptive and persuasive way to entice and woo girls and women whom they love and separate them from those confined to forced labour and sex-slavery after their abduction.
“Leah Sharibu was not coaxed (sic) or forced to renounce her faith. According to the information we gathered she willingly accepted the man and converted. She was not raped serially by anyone but willingly submitted herself to one of the insurgents through enticement.”
