ACF tasks Buhari to ensure Leah Sharibu’s safe release

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari and concerned Nigerians to ensure that Dapchi School girl, Leah Sharibu, is released unhurt.In a statement, ACF national publicity secretary, Alhaji Muhammadu Biu, noted that while majority of the kidnapped girls were rescued by the military and other security agencies one month after their abduction, Leah was withheld; hence the concern the released audio raised in the minds of her parents and other citizens.

The teenage pupil, who was abducted with 109 others on February 19, is still in captivity because she reportedly refused to apostacise. Her captors released an audio of her on Monday begging Nigerians to rescue her.“We have received with grief and hope the audio voice alleged to be that of the Dapchi girl, Leah Sharibu, still in the captivity of Boko Haram terrorists that abducted the Dapchi girls in February this year.

“In the alleged audio, Leah is appealing to President Buhari and all Nigerians to come to her rescue from the terrorists. If the audio is truly of Leah, it gives hope that the girl is still alive and may be released some day,” Biu said.He described Federal Government’s assurance that security agencies were decoding the audio recording to verify its authenticity as a welcome development.

“ACF, however, urges the Federal Government to not only fast-track the process of verification of the audio, but also utilise its intelligence to trace and rescue Leah and other Chibok girls that have been in the terrorists’ den for the past four years,” he added.

ACF also appealed to Nigerians “to be prayerful and hopeful for the successful rescue of our kidnapped girls and many others in the captivity of Boko Haram terrorists. The situation demands consciously directed efforts from all.”