Leah Sharibu Forced Into Three Marriages, Has Children in Boko Haram Captivity – Para-Mallam
” Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi schoolgirl still held by Boko Haram since her abduction in 2018, has reportedly been forced into three marriages and given birth to children in captivity, according to Gideon Para-Mallam, who is calling on President Bola Tinubu to intensify efforts to secure her freedom.
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Leah Sharibu Forced Into Three Marriages, Has Children in Boko Haram Captivity – Para-Mallam”
” A heartbreaking new revelation has emerged about the fate of Leah Sharibu, the only schoolgirl still held by Boko Haram since the 2018 Dapchi abduction, as a prominent peace advocate says she has been forced into multiple marriages and given birth to children while in captivity.”
Gideon Para-Mallam, Chief Executive Officer of the Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, disclosed this during an interview with Channels Television, where he spoke about information gathered on Leah’s life in captivity.
According to him, Leah was initially sold to an older man shortly after she was kidnapped by the terrorists.
He said the man forced her into marriage, and she later gave birth to her first child for him.
Para-Mallam explained that after about one or two years, Leah reportedly requested a divorce from the man, which was eventually granted.
He added that another Boko Haram commander later married her.
“Another guy who was a strong Boko Haram fighter, a commander, married Leah. So her second child came from that man. But that man was killed on December 31, 2022 when there were clashes between Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and the ISWAP faction,” Para-Mallam said.
He further disclosed that after the commander’s death, another insurgent took Leah as his wife, and she reportedly had another child for him.
“After that again, another man picked Leah and then she gave birth to another child. So probably three husbands from what I have described now,” he added.
Para-Mallam called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intensify efforts to secure Leah’s release after years in captivity.
Background: The 2018 Dapchi Schoolgirls Abduction
Leah Sharibu was among 110 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents on February 19, 2018, from the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.
The attack occurred around 5:30 pm, sending shockwaves across Nigeria and drawing global condemnation.
Following negotiations between the Nigerian government and the insurgents, 104 of the girls were released about a month later and reunited with their families.
However, Leah Sharibu, who was 14 years old at the time, was reportedly kept in captivity because she refused to renounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam.
Since then, she has remained the only Dapchi schoolgirl still held by the jihadist group.
Reports over the years suggest she has been isolated from her family and subjected to harsh conditions while the insurgents attempt to force her to change her religious beliefs.
Earlier Reports About Children in Captivity
In March 2021, the US-Nigeria Law Group revealed intelligence suggesting that Leah had given birth to a second child while still in captivity.
According to the group, both children were reportedly born in 2020, although the information was still under investigation at the time.
The organisation said:
“Intelligence received on the status of Leah indicates that she has delivered a second child in captivity. While we have not corroborated this by multiple sources, a usually knowledgeable source indicated that she delivered a second child late last year.”
Family’s Emotional Plea
Leah’s mother, Rebecca Sharibu, had earlier expressed deep pain over her daughter’s continued captivity.
In an emotional interview with The Guardian, she said she would even be willing to accept Leah’s captor as a son-in-law if it meant her daughter could finally regain her freedom.
Leah’s prolonged captivity has remained one of the most painful symbols of Nigeria’s struggle against terrorism, with activists and human rights groups repeatedly calling on the government to secure her release.
