Nigeria not doing enough to rescue Leah – ICC
* Says ‘It’s very likely there ‘ll be riots, attacks on Christian communities if Buhari loses in 2019’
* Urges Nigeria to solicit international help to combat Boko Haram
By Steve Oko
The Nigerian Government has been accused of not doing enough to rescue the only remaining victim of the abducted 110 Dapchi students, Leah Sharibu.
Sharibu, the only Christian among the students of Dapchi Technical College abducted last year by Boko Haram was held back because of her blunt refusal to renounce her faith and convert to Islam.
The terrorists have vowed to keep her in captivity amidst international outrage.
Miffed by her continued detention, the International Christian Concern, ICC, a non-partisan, charitable organization focused on human ri-ghts, religious freedom and assisting the persecuted Christian Church around the world has declared that after putting a call through to the traumatized mother of Leah Sharibu there has not been any further effort by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration to secure her.
Sharibu Leah Sharibu, who marked her 15th birth-day in captivity last May, was abducted on February 19, 2018 by the Abu Musab Al-Barnawi-led faction of Boko Haram from GGSTC, Dapchi in Yobe State.
On March 21, the Federal Government announced that Boko Haram terrorists had returned 106 of the kidnapped children. The lone abducted Christian girl, Leah Sharibu who is today spending the 249th day in the forest, wasn’t released because the group would only release her if she con-verted to Islam.
ICC has equally expressed fears over the fate of Christians in the eventuality of Buhari losing the 2019 presidential poll.
“It is very likely that there will be riots and attacks on Christian communities if he is not re-elected”, it said.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Na-than Johnson said that “as far as ICC is concerned, there have not been any more efforts to secure Leah Sharibu’s release”.
Continuing he said : “Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari called Leah’s mother over the telephone, but never visited her.
“The government then sent a delegation to meet the family, but it appears as if this was only a political move to show that they care, not to actually take action.
“Our sources close to the family said that this delegation only wanted to follow up on how the call with Buhari went, not to help release her quicker”.
Asked if the ICC has been able to reach out to the Nigerian president to find out what his government is up to, Mr. John-son said: “We have had no communication with the Buhari administration.
“We are nervous about what will happen leading up to the elections and what will happen after the elections, especially if Buhari is not re-elected.
” It is very likely that there will be riots and attacks on Christian communities if he is not re-elected.”
The ICC regional manager said it had been synergising with the Leah Sharibu Foundation and other concerned NGOs to assist the Sharibu family as well as other families in similar situat-ions.
Worried about the trauma of the family he said : “They have moved their son to a safer school away from Dapchi.
“The family is still living life without their daughter, and there is not much that can be done for them at the moment in the form of tangi-ble relief.
“Losing their daughter in this way cannot be healed through money and gifts. We continue to ask people to pray for the family’s faith, Leah’s faith and well-being, and Leah’s release.”
The US-based Christian rights group, further expressed worry over the politicisation of the Boko Haram menace in Nigeria.
It said one of the most important needs to effectively address the menace “is to define what is really going on in Nigeria”.
”There are many narratives that are being used by different sides to define the crisis in Nigeria, but most of them are just being used to help politicians or people gain power or avoid blame for the problems.
“The media must determine what is hap-pening and report clearly about the sit-uation. The country must be willing to ask for international help if necessary.
” Boko Haram has been a menace for nearly a decade, yet they con-tinue to wreak havoc in Nigeria.
“This shows that the government has not been able to defeat the group by themselves. They must change the culture in northeastern Nigeria so that citi-zens in the region fully turn against Boko Haram. They must prove that they can protect their citizens.
“It is a very complex situation taking place in Nigeria, so it will take wisdom to figure out how to combat these iss-ues.”
End
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