It's been four years since Leah Sharibu was kidnapped by Islamic group, Boko Haram. It will be recalled that on February 2018, about 50 armed men stormed a school in Dapchi, a town in Yobe state and abducted 110 young girls.
After one month, 104 of the captives were released while five of them died in captivity. Leah has been in captivity since she was 14 because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. Although the federal government promised to make effort to set her free, their efforts have not yielded any positive results.
Christian watchdog group, International Christian Concern (ICC) reported that Sharibu was possibly married off to one of her abductors and has two children, although the reports have not been confirmed.
Leah's father, Nata Sharibu, has spoken about the kidnap of his daughter. He said, "My daughter is alive but they said she is a Christian and that is why they cannot release her. They gave her the option of converting in order to be released but she said she will never become a Muslim. I am also happy too because my daughter did not denounce Christ."
So far, human rights groups have been advocating for the release of Sharibu and prayers have equally been made for her several times.
On her 17th birthday, a prayer vigil was held for her. Dede Laugesen, executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians, a grassroots group that raises awareness of worldwide Christian persecution said, "She (Leah) chose faith over freedom when it would have been so easy to cave."
Also, ICC has asked for prayers for Sharibu and her family. The group said, "Pray that the Lord will grant wisdom to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian government. Pray that Leah will be released and that the Lord will ease the burdens of the trauma that she and her family have experienced. Pray for the healing of Nigeria, for the end of mass abductions and killings, and for the Lord to transform the hearts of those who persecute the church."
On Open Doors USA's 2022 World Watch List, Nigeria ranks as the 7th worst country in the world for Christian persecution.
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