Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has reminded President Muhammadu Buhari his resolve and promise to secure the release of all persons abducted by the Boko Haram terrorists, especially Miss Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls.
CAN, in a statement wednesday by the Director, Legal and Public Affairs, Evangelist Kwamkur Samuel Vondip, said it’s deeply saddened by the puzzle of kidnapping, ransom payment and the non-release of Leah, including her reported present condition as well as other victims.
“It is two years now since the young Christian girl and unarguably, the face of the church in the country, Miss Leah Sharibu, was captured by Boko Haram along with other colleagues. But she is the only one still languishing in the den of her captors as a captive of faith, simply because she resisted the pressure from the terrorists to convert to Islam.
“The unsuccessful efforts to free the prisoner of faith by the federal government is highly disturbing, disappointing, depressing and unacceptable. More so that some abductees and persons kidnapped by the terrorists have had their ransoms paid and freed through the efforts of the federal government, relevant security agencies and some international non-governmental organisations,” it said.
CAN said it’s disheartening and painful that the government that freed Leah’s colleagues has not deemed it fit to secure her freedom, despite the fact that those in government have children or grandchildren of her age coupled with the fact that her father is a serving police officer.
“The same fate is the sad narrative of the Chibok girls’ mass abduction since 2014 after initial freedom of few of them. We commended the government then for securing the freedom of some but since then, the rest have remained in captivity,” CAN said.
