Tunde Joseph
Concerned groups including Christian women, civil society groups and other residents of Plateau on Tuesday held a special prayer session for Leah Sharibu to mark her 16th birthday.
Leah Sharibu is among students of Girls Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, who were abducted in their hostels in February 2018.
While other girls have been released, Leah is still being held by the captors.
The groups converged on Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) headquarters in Jos, to hold the special prayer in which they begged God to ensure her release.
They also prayed for other captives in the hands of others abductors, and prayed God to intervene.
In her special prayer for Leah, Mrs. Edith Temlong, the wife of the Vicar of St Piran’s Anglican Church in Jos, asked for divine intervention for her release and the freedom of other abductees in Nigeria.
“I pray God keeps her under his bosom for standing by her faith. I also pray for the deliverance of our children under the captivity of drugs, waywardness and those who left home under the influence of evil.
“I pray for our children who have refused to go to school and have become a burden to their parents. We ask for God’s intervention in all these cases,” she prayed.
In her prayer, Mrs. Esther Gongdem, a member of Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), begged God to strengthen Leah’s parents and give them the grace to hold on till the release of their daughter.
“I pray God to grant Leahs’ parents the grace to hold on despite the prolonged period of waiting. I ask that God gives every parent the grace to train children in good morals so that they become responsible persons in society.’
The participants of the prayer session also went to the Plateau State House of Assembly where they delivered a letter advocating for the release of Leah to the state government.
The delegation was led by Mrs. Joy Machunga, Secretary General of the Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigeria (CWEENS), who is also the secretary for Leah foundation and Catalyst for and Justice