The Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA has declared three days of intensive prayers for the release of Leah Sharibu.
ECWA in a letter by the General Secretary, Rev. Yunusa S. Nmadu Jnr, dated September 19, 2018, and forwarded to all ECWA churches worldwide, said: “Following the recent threat to the life of Leak Sharibu and her continued incarceration in the hands of her abdutors, the church has declared Monday, to Wednesday a time of prayer and fasting for her release and other abductees of Boko Haram.”
This is even as the Director of Social Communications at Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Osu has appealed to the Federal Government to save the neck of, just as her church.
After the killing of Saifura Khorsa, an aid worker with the Red Cross, who was kidnapped about six months ago at the Rann camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno, the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, a faction of Boko Haram, threatened to kill the lone Christian girl abducted on February 19 in Dapchi, Yobe State.
Reacting to the threat yesterday, Monsignor Osu said the audacity by the Islamic group avidly represented that ”we are now at the mercy of terrorists in this country.”
He, however, appealed to the federal government to accede to their demands and free the girl from the trauma.
Osu said: “The latest threat by terrorists to kill their captives avidly show that we are now at the mercy of terrorists who now determine our existence,” he said, adding “It’s obvious that our government knows them (the terrorists) and they talk often and what we are witnessing is nothing more than a grand design by a group of terrorists to extort money from the Nigerian State.
“If the government is really serious about releasing this lone Christian girl still in captivity since February 19, they should make haste to negotiate with the terrorists the same way they negotiated to free the rest of the girls abducted from the same school.
”As it is it now we are at their mercy despite the talks of victory over the Boko Haram menace that we hear every day, because even if we manage to bail this girl now there is no guarantee that they will not return to abduct others and we start another round of negotiation.
“Why did they kill a health worker? And of course, we have gradually forgotten the Chibok class that were taken away in 2014.
”Certainly, they know themselves, otherwise there was no other reason why they should release over 100 girls, leaving just one captive who happen to be the only Christian among them. It only suggests that the government had not met their demands.
”What can we say again; ’unto your hands we commend our spirit, Oh Lord.’ Becuause it’s so strange that terrorists will be determining our yardstick of existence. It’s a shame. We have even forgotten about the 2014 class of captives.
”The government cannot deceive us, they know the people. They should save that girl’s neck. We’ll continue to pray but it’s obvious that it’s terrorists that are ruling us now in this country.”
