TheNewsGuru

What Nigerians are saying about Leah Sharibu giving birth in captivity

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by

Ediri Oyibo
in ,

Reactions have continued to trail news of Leah Sharibu giving birth to a baby boy in Boko Haram captivity, even as speculation continues to trickle in that the Dapchi girl is now a mother.

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Ahmed Salkida, a conflict and terrorism reporter has further corroborated the speculations that Leah is now a mother.

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“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.

Even, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, who was Spokesman to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has joined in the conversation.

“I do not believe that Leah Sharibu has converted to Islam. They are trying to demean her & remove her status as a hero. That girl would rather die than convert to Islam. She remains a hero of the Christian faith & if she is dead then she is a martyr. Whichever way she wins!” he tweeted.

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Read more reactions from Nigerians on the development below:

Recall that Leah was abducted among 110 schoolgirls by the dreaded Boko Haram sect from Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Adamawa State on February 19, 2018 at about 5:30 pm.

Meanwhile, the family of the abducted girl has described reports that Leah is now having a baby boy in captivity for a top Boko Haram commander who lives outside Nigeria as a rumour.

A senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, Dr. Gloria Puldu, who speaks for the family, said that all they wanted was to have Leah home alive, with or without a baby.

According to Punch, Puldu said, “I have seen reports that Leah had a baby boy. That is just a rumour as far as we are concerned. What we even desire is to see a proof of life so that we see Leah by ourselves. If they are able to have Leah safe, we will understand.

“The most important thing is that we want her to be alive. And if she is alive, we will praise God for that. They should release her, despite whatever condition she is in. That is all; it doesn’t matter whether she is pregnant or with a baby. Is it not better to have your child alive? So, it doesn’t matter, all we are interested in is her life and safety.”

Puldu also noted that they had unconfirmed information that Leah was still alive.

She said, “I spoke with Jennifer, who was in Boko Haram captivity, last Monday or Tuesday. I was able to speak with her one-on-one and she told us that she did not see Leah in captivity, but she was with Alison Gada, who informed her that Leah was alive, healthy and not dead.”

Incidentally, President of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren), Rev Joel Billi, told one of our correspondents that a journalist who has access to Boko Haram, Ahmad Salkida, told him Leah had become a mother.

The cleric said he got the call from Salkida on the same day the journalist announced the execution of the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Rev Lawan Andimi, by Boko Haram.

He said he had known Salkida as a young boy while he was a pastor in Biu.

Billi said, “Ahmed Salkida, whom I knew as a young boy when I was a pastor in Biu, called me to inform me that Andimi had been gruesomely murdered.

“I was also told by Ahmad Salkida that Leah Sharibu had given birth to a baby. I was devastated. I was staggering and almost fell down because I was shocked to hear that. I couldn’t absorb the shock because Leah Sharibu had become a symbol of the Christian faith. I consider her Christian faith stronger than even that of many church leaders. When I heard that Leah Sharibu was now a mother, I had to ask more than three times just to be sure. Ahmad Salkida said, ‘Leah Sharibu is now a mother.’”

Reacting to the report, last night, Leah’s father, Mr Nathan Sharibu also personally dismissed reports that his daughter has given birth to a baby boy.

“I have not heard that and I don’t want to hear any such news,” he told newsmen.

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