Father of Dapchi girl, Leah, who’s still being held, debunks rumour of release

The father of Leah, the only Dapchi  school girl still being held by the Boko  Haram terrorists, Mr. Nathan Sharibu,  on Saturday, debunked the rumours making rounds that his daughter had been released.

In a telephone interview with our news correspondent, Mr Sharibu said that the rumoured release of Leah was just a figment of the imagination of the originators of the story.

It can be recalled that on Friday night, online platforms, quoting BBC Hausa Service, carried the news that Leah had regained her freedom and was on her way to reunite with her parents.However, while speaking with our news correspondent, Mr Sharibu debunked the rumour and urged those behind the story to stop creating confusion with the fake news of Leah, his daughter’s release.

He said,

“Leah is not back yet, but we are praying and hoping that God will grant her freedom someday.

I want to appeal to social media handlers to stop confusing us with fake news about Leah’s release.

I know the traffic they generate with headlines about Leah, but such headlines should be authentic and not mere rumour.”

Speaking on how Leah’s mother, Mrs Rebecca Sharibu was coping with the situation, Mr Sharibu said that she was better off compared to when the incident first happened.

The Secretary of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls parents association, Mallam Bukar Kachalla, also told our news correspondent that the news of Leah’s release was not true, describing it as diversionary.

He called on the Federal Government to hasten the process of Leah’s return so that she could be reunited with her parents.

Leah was among the 110 girls abducted by Boko Haram on February 19 in Dapchi, Yobe State.

The insurgents had since returned 104 of the girls, but refused to release Leah on the ground that she refused to renounce her Christian faith, while five of the girls were said to have died during their abduction.