We’re Not Happy over Leah’s Continued Captivity by Boko Haram, Catholic Bishops Tell FG

Paul Obi in Abuja
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on Monday expressed great concern over the continued captivity of Leah Sharibu, the schoolgirl abducted by the Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.

They said the inability of the federal government to ensure that Leah regains her freedom was worrisome and portends great danger.
Leah was kidnapped by Boko Haram alongside 110 other schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State.
The other schoolgirls were subsequently released by the sect, but refused to release Leah following her refusal to denounce Christianity and embrace Islam.

Several groups have condemned the decision by the sect to hold on to Leah, with others accusing some state officials of masterminding the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls for political reasons.

But speaking with THISDAY, the CBCN President and Archbishop of Benin, Most Rev. Augustine Akubueze frown at the federal government’s inability to effect the release of the Christian schoolgirl held by terrorists because of her Christian faith.

Akubueze said: “We have been praying for her release and that of the rest of Chibok girls; we are not happy about it. Let her be released, she was expressing her faith.”

He added that there was an urgency for the “government to work towards her release, saying, “that is what everybody is asking for. We want government to do all it can to ensure her release.”

The bishops had earlier warned of the excruciating suffering Nigerians now under go in the present administration.
The CBCN further stated that the current precarious situation in the country makes Nigeria, a nation with a “lots of our hopes shattered.”
They cautioned against the consequences of schools and other educational institutions becoming a safe haven for terrorists to kidnap schoolgirls.