Leah Sharibu: We Will Not Pay Ransom For Any Boko Haram Captive — Presidency

Sharibu
Leah Sharibu

The presidency has just announced that  Leah Sharibu is alive and government is doing everything to negotiate with her abductors to release her, but is uninterested in paying ransom to terrorists.

This was made known by President Muhammadu Buhari’s aide on media and publicity, Garba Shehu on Saturday in Abuja.

Sharibu was abducted alongside 110 students of Government Girls Science and Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, by Boko Haram terrorists in February 2018.

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The terrorists voluntarily released the 105, while 4 of the girls were said to have died but Sharibu, was said to have been held back because she refused to denounce her Christian faith.

While speaking with a group of journalists on Saturday, Mr. Shehu said: ‘‘Instead of giving up, the government is carrying forward processes that should hopefully yield her release by her captors.”

Garba who says he was responding to the “worrying cycle of speculations on whether Leah Sharibu, the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirl, had been harmed by her abductors.”

Read Also: Shehu Sani Reacts To Rumours That Leah Sharibu Has Been Killed

“Lines of communications remain open with the kidnappers, ISWA, to secure the release of Leah Sharibu.

The presidential aide noted also that Sharibu “is alive, adding that government was working with security agencies to ensure her release and that of others in the captivity of Boko Haram.

“Kidnapping for ransom should never be encouraged. This means not capitulating to the demands of terrorists: refrain from rewarding their heinous crimes with payment.