Christian women in Plateau State, have lent their voice to others across the country, demanding the release of the only Christian school girl who was kept back by Boko Haram, because of her refusal to convert to Islam.
The women in a procession to the Plateau State House of Assembly, Wednesday, carried placards with inscriptions like, ‘We are Leah’, ‘We stand with Leah’, ‘Free Leah’, ‘Bring back Leah’, ‘Jesus left 99 for one’ among others.
Addressing House Members of the Plateau Assembly, leader of the group known as, Christian Women on the Plateau for Peace and Security, Pastor Esther Ibanga, said, “we express our deep anguish, concern and heartfelt sorrow over the continued captivity and current plight of our daughter and sister, the 14 years old Leah Sharibu.
“While we share in the joy of those parents whose daughters were returned to them amidst jubilation last week, we express our very deep concern over the fate of Leah Sharibu.
“As Christian women, we share in Leah’s dignity and calamity for it has become crystal clear that Christians in Nigeria are increasingly becoming endangered species.
“We are crying out today in the context of a nation under siege: does section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not state that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government? yet today, all over the country and more specifically on the Plateau, there is a growing climate of insecurity, tension and fear.
“Unarmed citizens and communities are being left unprotected against violent ambush with little or no recourse to emergency response.
“In Plateau over 50 communities in Barkin-Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos, Riyom and parts of Jos South Local Government Areas, have been viciously attacked, sacked and dispossessed of their ancestral lands, farms and properties by heavily armed gunmen”, she said.
Responding, the Speaker, Plateau House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Azi, said government is doing all it could to ensure that Leah is brought back.
Azi said the Federal government is still negotiating with the abductors to ensure the safe return of the only Christian school girl among the 101 students abducted by Boko Haram.
Recall that Leah was one of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents on the 19th of February 2018 from the Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
