It has been seven years now since Leah Sharibu, the only Christian ‘girl’ among the 110 students, was kidnapped by Boko Haram from Dapchi. Her mother, Rebecca Sharibu, marked her daughter’s 22nd birthday, appealing to people around the world to pray for her safe return.
Rebecca shared this in a video shared by Open Doors UK, expressing her grief and unwavering hope.
She said, “I sang a song for Leah on her last birthday, and she celebrated with us. Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!! Happy birthday to you!!! And she was excited and smiling, and that was the last birthday she had at home with us.
“I’m cutting this cake on behalf of Leah, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I’m hopeful that next year, God willing, she will be the one cutting the cake with her own hands, and we will celebrate together.
“I’m pleading with you to join hands and keep on praying concerning Leah and the others in captivity that God will bring them back safely,” she added.
Recall that Leah was abducted on February 19, 2018, from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.
While most of the girls were freed after what the Nigerian government called “back-channel” negotiations, Leah was held back.
It was later learned that Leah refused to recite the Islamic declaration and wear the hijab, rejecting the militants’ demand to renounce her Christian faith.
Leah’s classmates reportedly told Rebecca that she said, “If they want to kill her, they can go ahead, but she won’t say she is a Muslim.”
Her refusal to deny Christ at age 15, even under threat of death, has made her a symbol of Christian perseverance. Her friends said Leah’s last message to her parents was to “pray for me.”
According to SaharaReporters, Boko Haram kidnapped over 110 school girls from Dapchi in 2018, of which one hundred and four of them were later released in March 2018, while five died on the day they were abducted.
