Yemisi Izuora
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and other concerned groups, including the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum; the BringBackOurGirls Coalition; the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, have renewed call on President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue Leah Sharibu from Boko Haram captivity.
They said it was tragic that the Federal Government had failed to rescue the girl after spending about seven months in the Boko Haram captivity.
Sharibu was one of the 110 girls kidnapped on February 19, 2018 by Boko Haram terrorists from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State.
The terrorists were reported to have detained her because she refused to renounce her Christian faith.
In a video believed to have been released by Boko Haram a few weeks ago, the teenager appealed to President Buhari to secure her release.
Condemning the delay in rescuing Sharibu more than 200 days after her abduction, the PDP said Buhari should listen to Nigerians and act as a father by putting effort into securing her release.
The PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, while demanding her immediate release, called on Nigerians to pray for the “innocent” girl.
He said, “We appeal to President Buhari and his security agencies to please listen to the cry of this little girl. Nigerians were moved to tears recently after listening to her plea via a voice message she sent from the den of her abductors.
“It was a cry of innocence. This is somebody whose offence was just that she went to school. She didn’t want to die as an illiterate. Must we allow her to be punished for this? My answer is no.
“The primary duty of any government is to provide security for the citizens. That is the little we expect from this government. The President ought to be a father to all the citizens, including Leah. Let him act so by negotiating and freeing this our daughter.”
Secondus said the government should consider the plight of Sharibu’s parents and also listen to the girl’s plea, which was released to the public some days ago.
He said it was unfortunate that since the time Boko Haram released other girls abducted alongside the Christian teenager, nothing concrete had been done by the Federal Government to free her.
The opposition party therefore asked Nigerians to beg the President to, as a matter of urgency, reach out to her abductors and get her out of their grip.