Ahmad Salkida, a journalist with access to terror group – Boko Haram – on Sunday disclosed that indeed Leah Sharibu was now a mother, confirming SaharaReporters’ story in the process.
On Saturday, SaharaReporters had broken the news of Sharibu’s delivery of a baby boy to a top commander of Boko Haram.
A source close to the group had told our correspondent that the Christian teenager, who was among 112 students of Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, seized by the terror sect on February 19, 2018, had given birth to a baby boy after being forced to convert to Islam and forcefully married to the unnamed Boko Haram commander.
Further confirming SaharaReporters’ story, Salkida in a post on Twitter on Sunday, said, “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.”
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.
— Ahmad Salkida (@A_Salkida) January 26, 2020
However, describing the latest news on the teenager as mere rumour, a senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, Dr Gloria Puldu, who speaks for the family, told Sunday PUNCH that all they wanted was to have Leah home alive, with or without a baby.
She said, “I have seen reports that Leah had a baby boy.
“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.”
Recall that while almost all the captured girls were released by Boko Haram not too long after their kidnap, Sharibu was kept in captivity for refusing to renounce Christianity for Islam.
Despite promises by President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to secure the teenager’s release, she remains with the terrorists till this day.
