Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl among 112 students kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents in Yobe, has given birth in captivity.
In a tweet confirming the development, Ahmad Salkida, a journalist with access to the insurgents, said Sharibu is now a mother, but that he was yet to know the gender of the baby.
“Why, I wonder, do we pretend that leaving Leah behind won’t result in pregnancy? Since the terror group announced condemning her to slavery, is there any step or collective focus on preventing similar occurrences? She’s a mother, but I don’t know about the gender of the baby,” Salkida tweeted on Sunday.
Why I wonder, do we pretend that leaving Leah behind won’t result in pregnancy? Since the terror group announced condemning her to slavery, is there any step or collective focus on preventing similar occurrences? She’s a mother, but I don’t know about the gender of the baby.
— Ahmad Salkida (@A_Salkida) January 26, 2020
A source who also confirmed the development to TheCable said Sharibu was “impregnated by one of the commanders of the sect, and she was delivered of a baby four days ago”.
Sharibu was abducted alongside other girls from Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19, 2018.
The girls who were captured were subsequently released, except five who reportedly died in captivity, but Sharibu was held back for “refusing to renounce her faith”.
In August 2018, TheCable obtained a recording of Sharibu begging the president to come to her rescue and reunite her with her family.
She had said: “I am Leah Sharibu, the girl that was abducted in GGSS Dapchi. I am calling on the government and people of goodwill to intervene to get me out of my current situation.
“I also plead to the members of the public to help my mother, my father, my younger brother and relatives. Kindly help me out of my predicament. I am begging you to treat me with compassion, I am calling on the government, particularly, the president to pity me and get me out of this serious situation. Thank you.”
Shortly after the other girls were released, President Muhammadu Buhari promised that his government would not abandon Sharibu.
