Rebecca Sharibu, the mother of Leah Sharibu, the only Christian girl among the 110 students abducted by Boko Haram from Dapchi, Yobe State in 2018 has marked her daughter’s 22nd birthday in tears and prayer, still hoping for her safe return after seven years in captivity.
Leah was taken on February 19, 2018, from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, Dapchi. While most of the girls were released following what authorities described as “back-channel” negotiations, Leah was not freed. It was later revealed that she refused to renounce her Christian faith, declining to recite the Islamic declaration or wear the hijab, as demanded by her captors.
Her classmates reported that Leah had boldly declared: “If they want to kill me, they can go ahead, but I won’t say I am a Muslim.”
In a video message released by Open Doors UK, Rebecca Sharibu recalled Leah’s last birthday at home before her abduction:
“I sang a song for Leah on her last birthday she celebrated with us. Happy birthday to you... and she was excited and smiling. That was the last birthday she had with us.”
Marking Leah’s 22nd birthday, Rebecca cut a symbolic cake in her daughter’s honour, saying,
“I’m cutting this cake on behalf of Leah, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I’m hopeful that next year, God willing, she will be the one cutting the cake with her own hands and we will celebrate together.”
Rebecca also made a heartfelt plea:
“I’m pleading with you to join hands and keep on praying concerning Leah and the others in captivity, that God will bring them back safely.”
Leah’s steadfast refusal to deny her Christian faith at the age of 15 has made her a global symbol of Christian courage and resilience. Her last known message to her parents was simple yet powerful: “Pray for me.”
Of the 110 girls abducted from Dapchi in 2018, 104 were released in March of that year, while five reportedly died during the abduction. Leah remains in captivity to this day.
Rebecca Sharibu continues to call on the global community, especially people of faith, to remember Leah and all others held in captivity due to their religious beliefs, holding firmly to her faith that her daughter will one day return home.
