Top of the news that has trended in the last few days is the “dirty slap”, as they call it, that Seun Kuti gave a policeman in uniform last Saturday. Seun is the son of the iconoclast and Afro-beat king, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The event leaves much to be desired on many fronts. If it is true that it was Seun that bashed the policeman’s car and the policeman complained and was then offered a dirty slap to the bargain, this is impunity of the highest order. It is also what they call insult upon injury! According to reports, the policeman trailed Seun to his home and, there, both settled. Seun apologised and also offered the aggrieved policeman N12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle. Seun must have thought that was the end of the matter but, trust a policeman, the money and apology from Seun were treated as evidence of his culpability and could be exhibited in court as the policeman reportedly made (or had made) a report and then deposited the money with the police. The incident soon went viral (by who?) and, then, outrage. If the report is true that Seun boasted that the policeman in question was not the first he would slap, then, we must ask whether slapping a policeman (with or without justification) has become sport or pastime!

I do not want to believe that the IGP is so un-busy that the arrest of Seun should be top priority for him. If I may ask, is there no hierarchical structure in the police again?

Seun gave the police authorities the opportunity to flex muscles like the proverbial lazy husband who only flexes muscles with his wife at home! Thinking he was doing something noble and heroic, the Inspector-General of Police was reported to have ordered the prompt arrest of Seun – like Portable, the singer, was also arrested weeks ago in an unnecessarily dramatised fashion. I do not want to believe that the IGP is so un-busy that the arrest of Seun should be top priority for him. If I may ask, is there no hierarchical structure in the police again? What is the duty of the Area Commander where the incident was reported? What of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police? I think they used to have DIGs in charge of Zones. Are we saying none of these is big enough to order the arrest of an errant musician? Is Seun such an untouchable that only the IGP could order his arrest? If it takes the IGP to order the arrest of a “mere” Seun, I dare to say, you can now understand why big men are treated as untouchables here. They commit blue murder in broad daylight and no one dare touch them. With this action, the IGP, I am sorry to say, belittles his office and ridicules his subordinates whose duty it should have been, appropriately, to handle this matter.

Then, the police authorities over-reacted. They killed a fly with a sledge hammer. For a police Force conversant with the nuances of public relations, they should have leveraged on this incident to shine. They should have been very civil the way they handled the matter, not for the sake of the errant Seun but to win over the sympathy of, and accolades from, a discerning public. Rather than order the arrest of Seun, the appropriate Police authorities should have invited him. “We heard this and that happened, can you please come and state your own side of the matter?” Are the police no longer our friends? Proper psychology was not applied by the police in this matter. Now, the IGP ordered Seun’s arrest and the musician turned himself in to the police. He was not on the run. He did not tarry or delay from going to the police. He was not forced or compelled to honour the police. Why put him in handcuffs? He was not violent. He was not unruly. He did not comport himself in a way likely to cause a breach of the peace. He – and his supporters – did not storm the police station in IPOB or Obidient style. Why, then, put him in chains if not deliberately to ridicule him? The pictures of Seun that I saw depicted a remorseful personality. Why, then, put him in chains? That was mean of the police authorities. And the shame of those handcuffs on Seun, I dare to say, are not Seun’s but, sadly, of the police authorities. This is not the picture a police force that prides itself as our friends should portray.

READ ALSO: Between Obasanjo and Afe Babalola, By Bola Bolawole

Then, the Police Service Commission (PSC) was quoted as saying that Seun would be used as an object lesson for those who disrespect policemen in uniform! Haba!  The police should have some training in Law! I should think they do! There should even be sound lawyers in the Police Force. If so, what is the import of the statement from the PSC? It can only mean that Seun has been pronounced guilty ever before he is tried! Even before he is given the opportunity to defend himself, the guilty verdict has been pronounced on him by the highest police authority in the land.

So, the police became the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge at one and the same time! Yet, it is trite that no one shall be a judge in his own cause! How can this basic tenet of the rule of law be lost on the police that play such an indispensable role in the temple of justice? Having assumed the firm and unmistakable position that it has taken on this matter; can we expect Seun to get proper and unbiased investigation from the police? Even if the guilt of Seun is as clear as daylight, it is not in the place of the police to pronounce him guilty because the police are not a court of competent jurisdiction. Even if Seun confesses and or admits to having committed an offence, it is still not in the place of the police to pronounce judgment on him.

And it is trite that an accused person is deemed innocent in the eyes of the law until he has been pronounced guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction after he/she has had his/her day in court, that is, having been put through the rigours of fair trial. Why all of these were lost on the highest echelon of the police should give us more worry than the infantile radicalism of a musician. Kindly note that everything said here is not about Seun as a person but about the grave issues of fundamental human rights and the rule of law involved. It is Seun today; it can be any one tomorrow. This case has seen the limelight because of the personality involved and we can, therefore, comment on it; but how many such cases involving ordinary citizens are swept under the carpets?

The police that were swift in ordering the arrest of Seun were lethargic when Deborah Samuel was murdered in cold blood, in broad daylight and in the most horrendous and audacious manner by her school mates a year ago! One year later, the same police have the temerity to tell us that the vile murderers remain at large! This remains a blot on the police. If men of power have drawn the curtains on this sordid affair, has God? Will the blood of Deborah, like the blood of biblical Abel, not cry unto God from the belly of the earth? In like manner, Leah Sharibu, who marked her fifth year in Boko Haram captivity last February, will forever remain an indelible stain on the president, retired Major-General Muhammadu Buhari , and his administration. Not a few believe that Leah was left to suffer because she refused to renounce her faith. “Serves her right”, some might have said! “Let Jesus, whom she professed, deliver her!” Not so? God created the vulture noted for his patience; so He is more patient than the vulture.

Dele Giwa, himself also a victim of vicious vampires, said: “No evil will go unpunished; any evil by man to man will be redressed, if not now, then, certainly later, if not by man, then, certainly by God, for the victory of evil over good is temporary.”

The only option he is left with is to be man enough and honour his threat to go on exile should Tinubu become president! Lesson: Bridle your tongue, especially when tempers run high!

Have you heard the news? Some elders of Lagos State are trying to offer PDP chieftain, Chief Olabode George, soft landing! They are reportedly brokering what has been said to be a truce between George and the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and from reports, the former has stylishly climbed into the boat! The only option he is left with is to be man enough and honour his threat to go on exile should Tinubu become president! Lesson: Bridle your tongue, especially when tempers run high! Refrain from using swear words! Never say “Over my dead body!” As a student of history familiar with the story of the founding of the old Kingdom of Abomey, which later became Dahomey, and now the Republic of Benin, I have also learnt to refrain from being sarcastic. Useful lessons, I am sure, have been learnt. And no one is too old to learn. Next should be moves to reconcile Pa Ayo Adebanjo with Tinubu. Over to you, Lagos/Yoruba elders!

*Bolawole (turnpot@gmail.com / 0807 552 5533), former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

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Farouq said this in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Nneka Anibeze, on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the seventh anniversary of the abduction of Chibok girls.

“Let me assure the parents of the Chibok girls, Sharibu and other abductees, that this government has not forgot about them.

“We have heard your demands and the responsible ministries and agencies will respond on behalf of the government.

“All our children deserve quality formal education. Our country needs them to be educated for our development.  No one should have to choose between school and safety.

“We will employ all our efforts to give every Nigerian child the opportunity to rise out of poverty and attain their ambitions through education,” Farouq said.

The minister said President Muhammadu Buhari came into power with a public mandate to control the insurgency in the Northeast that led to the Chibok girls’ abduction, and to fight the corruption that hampered the rescue efforts.

She explained that the federal government had achieved a lot, adding that significant work remained for all levels of government.

“Half of the Chibok girls have been rescued and reunited with their families and have resumed their education.  We will continue working to bring back those left behind.

“Local, state and federal governments readiness to respond to attacks on schools has greatly improved.  We are working to prevent such attacks from occurring in the first place,” she said.

The minister said that she would not like to speak openly about the security strategies and measures.

“But I can assure you that President Buhari’s government holds the safety and security of Nigerians as its sacred duty.

“We are fighting a regional tide of criminality and violent extremism in partnership with others,” she said.

No fewer than 300 female students of Government Secondary in Chibok were abducted by members of Boko Haram on April 14, 2014.

Eighty two of the girls were reported to have been released in May 2017.

One of the girls was rescued in January 2018.  An unknown additional number of girls escaped in January 2021, but over 112 were believed to still remain in captivity.

Source: NAN

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On November 27, 2000, 10-year-old Damilola Taylor died on the streets of South London. Damilola was on his way home from Peckham library when he was stabbed in the leg with broken glass by two brothers. He was later found in a condemned building a few yards to his home.  For six years, the British justice system searched for Damilola’s killers. In what could be described as a national quest for justice, even career criminals agreed to testify against suspects in the case.  Eventually, Danny and Ricky Preddie were convicted for Damilola’s murder.  Till date, the murder is seen by many as one of the most investigated by the UK police.

Who was Damilola Taylor and why was his case so special to the British government? Damilola was a little child born and bred in Nigeria. He had barely spent six months in the UK before his murder. He relocated to London with his parents in the summer of 2000 only to be killed in November of the same year.

Why should anyone evoke the memory of a promising child whose life ended in tragedy almost 20 years after his death?  Sadly, it is for the unwholesome reason of making a comparison of the value attached to the life of a Nigerian child in a foreign land and the worth of a child in the eyes of the Nigerian government. Damilola was killed in another man’s country and his death shook the entire nation. Here in Nigeria, another child called Leah Sharibu, though alive, is being abandoned in the cruel hands of Boko Haram insurgents by the Nigerian government, which has all the power to release her.

I guess the British government would have done everything within its power to save Damilola if offered the opportunity. Unfortunately, in the case of Leah, she is alive. What is more, the Nigerian government knows where she is. The Federal Government knows her abductors. It even negotiated the release of her schoolmates about two years ago.  Government is in constant touch with her abductors. They say this all the time.  Her abductors also release videos of her when they like to prove that she is alive and boast of their next action against her.  Yet, the Nigerian government appears too weak to do anything about her situation.

Leah is one of the 110 girls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgents during a raid on a school in Dapchi, Yobe State, on February 19, 2018. Following a deal between the government and the terrorists, the sect released 104 girls, five others were said to have died in captivity. They held on to Leah for being a Christian. It was learnt that the terrorists held on to Leah because she refused to rescind her Christian faith.  Leah was 14 years at the time of her abduction. Almost two years after, news from the Boko Haram camp is that Leah has been delivered of a baby boy, after being forcefully married to the sect’s commandant.

How else can a nation fail a child? Getting a girl-child to be in school in the North East where Leah was abducted is a herculean task on its own. The region is known to encourage child marriage.  Nigeria has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world with almost half the population of girls being married off before age 18.  According to the 2013 NDHS Report, the number of Nigerian girls married before their 18th birthday is as high as 58.2%. Child marriage prevalence in the North East is as high as 88%, according to the Save the Children Resource Centre.  What this suggests is that Leah and her schoolmates are some of the few girls in the region fortunate enough to be in school and not married off as underage girls.  For a   government still struggling to get the girl-child educated to be so careless in protecting the few ones that are in school to the extent that they could be kidnapped in a public school, leaves much to be desired.

‘Can anyone imagine what the situation would have been if Leah Sharibu were to be a child of a sitting Nigerian President. Would she still be in captivity?’

What is the logic behind keeping Leah in the abductors’ den?  If the Federal Government could rescue other Dapchi girls, why has it not rescued Leah?  Has the Nigerian government totally surrendered to terrorists? Are Nigerian leaders totally insensitive or do they choose what to be sensitive about? Can anyone imagine what the situation would have been if Leah Sharibu were to be a child of a sitting Nigerian President. Would she still be in captivity?  I remember when President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf, was involved in a ghastly power bike accident that left him with a head injury and broken limb. It was as if the whole nation was thrown into mourning. Government officials practically kept vigil at the hospital where Yusuf was kept praying earnestly for his survival. Despite the success of the surgery performed to save his life in Nigeria, Yusuf was nonetheless flown abroad to access better health care and services.

Some people can still remember the notorious cross border bandit, Amani Tidjani, who terrorised Nigerians during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It was a terrible situation. Nigeria’s security agencies gave the nation the impression that he was invincible until one day in 2003 when President Obasanjo’s daughter, Iyabo’s convoy, was attacked by Tidjani and his men. That was Nigerians’ day of salvation.   Obasanjo swiftly closed the Nigerian-Benin border and told Mathew Kerekou, the Beninois president that the border would not be opened until Tidjani was released to Nigeria. All of a sudden, the Nigerian police, immigration, customs and everybody went into action and Tidjani was arrested in a matter of days.

Is it wrong for Obasanjo and Buhari to be protective over their children? Absolutely not!   It is normal and indeed natural for parents to be sensitive and caring where the health and wellbeing of their children are concerned.  Where I however have problem with Nigerian leaders is when they are indifferent to the welfare and wellbeing of other people that they are constitutionally empowered to protect. Let’s face it. Is it possible for a child of any sitting Nigerian President to suffer the fate of Leah? The Federal Government will leave no stone unturned in its bid to rescue the President’s child. If it meant deploying the entire nation’s military power to fight the Boko Haram sect or spending all the money in the country’s treasury to free the child, the Nigerian government will do it.

This is the crux of the matter. Until leadership is taken as a responsibility towards the entire population, Nigeria will continue to wallow in the ocean of mediocrity. Truth be told – Nigerian leaders are selfish. The evidence is everywhere. They don’t care about the quality of education at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels because their children don’t attend these schools.  They send their children to the best institutions abroad and still have the audacity to tell us to our face that they do so because they can afford it.  You then wonder where they get the money from when the official salary of a Nigerian President is not even up to N5million per month.

‘President Buhari should bring back Leah Sharibu now.’

Every responsible government protects the lives of their citizenry. That is partly why it took the British government six years to convict the boys responsible for Damilola’s death to act as a deterrent to others. Leah has no business being in Boko Haram’s enclave; let alone being forcefully married and nursing a baby for a terrorist. This is government failure at the highest level. In sane climes, citizens can force a President to resign over this issue.

Nigerian leaders owe the people the duty to care, protect and provide basic amenities for them.   Securing the lives of Nigerians and protecting the nation’s territorial integrity is government’s primary responsibility. It is the inalienable rights of Nigerians to have access to good infrastructural facilities, hospitals and schools in a secured environment.  These things are not favours.  They are the duties that Nigerian leaders are being paid to do.  These functions are constitutionally assigned. Whoever fails to perform them is not fit to be in a leadership position. It is unacceptable for Nigerian leaders to continue to be lackadaisical about things that affect the common man’s welfare and at the same time feel comfortable deploying the nation’s resources in taking care of themselves and their families. President Buhari should bring back Leah Sharibu now.

*Olabisi Deji-Folutile is a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk

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The declaration was made on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

Speaking to a group of journalists on Saturday in Abuja, Shehu said: ‘‘Instead of giving up, the government is carrying forward processes that should hopefully yield her release by her captors.”

The presidential spokesman was responding to worrying cycle of speculations on whether Leah Sharibu, the kidnapped Dapchi school girl had been harmed by her abductors.

He told reporters emphatically that much of what is written about the girl in the press is false news.

“Lines of communications remain open with the kidnappers, ISWA, to secure the release of Leah Sharibu.

‘‘Contrary to false reports, she is alive – given assurances from our security agencies –  and the government is committed to her safe return, as well as all other hostages to their families.

“Kidnapping for ransom should never be encouraged. This means not capitulating to the demands of terrorists: refrain from rewarding their heinous crimes with payment.

‘’With the abduction of loved family and friends, the government understands how difficult these time are for them, but government is pursuing many options to ensure the safe return of Leah Sharibu.

“We must commit to law and communication, using the breadth of strategies at our disposal: legal initiatives, stakeholder cooperation, involvement of all relevant parties and the use of the latest hostage negotiation techniques.

‘‘Kidnapping for ransom is rising across the Sahel. We must – collectively – make sure we implement best practice to prevent its exploitation,’’ he said.

Appealing for patience in dealing with the challenge this case poses, the Presidential spokesman assured that the administration was fully conscious that any misstep on a delicate issue as that could be costly.

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Rebecca made the call on Wednesday in Dapchiin an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Leah was among the 110 Dapchi school girls kidnapped by the terrorist in February, 2018.

While the terrorists released the other 109 girls, they held on to Leah on account of her faith.

“I still plead with Federal Government, organisations and individuals to intensify efforts for the release of my daughter, Leah, who has been in the hands of insurgents for one year and five months.

Also speaking, Miss Aisha Kachalla, Leah’s friend, who was also abducted by the terrorists but was released, said she was worried on the whereabouts of Leah, who has been in continued detention by the terrorists.

“I often cry when I remember my friend Leah. I don’t know where she is.

“I don’t believe she is dead because there is no proof of her death. Her corpse has not appeared in any television station or newspaper,” Kachalla said.

Malam Kachalla Bukar, the Secretary of Dapchi Abducted School Girls Parents Association, said the association would not relent in its effort to ensure that Leah is released.

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This is as the Presidency condemned the terrorists group, saying the video released showing those in their captivity had only brought about the urgency with which security forces should act.

It said discussion had been going on before now over the humanitarian aid workers and others, including Leah Sharibu.

Said the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu in a statement:  “The Presidency has been briefed by the responsible government agency about the disturbing video showing our citizens, the humanitarian aid workers, held captive.

“Presidency has been given assurances that contact is being made and the captors are being talked to.

“Besides these aid workers, there are some others about whom this engagement is about – Leah Sharibu, a religious leader and all the others.

“These discussions have been ongoing even before this time and what this latest incident has done is to bring urgency to the efforts that the secret service is making.

“Government is making contacts in the hope that the captors will see reason to not visit hardship or even harm on these innocent individuals. Government is working.’’

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The beneficiaries are the families of Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi school girl remaining in the custody of the terrorists group, Boko Haram; Hussaini Ahmed Khoisan and Hauwa Liman, the two humanitarian workers kidnapped and killed by the terrorists.

Also to benefit from the generosity are the children of some late senators of the Eighth Assembly who might need support for the furtherance of their education.

The information are contained in a statement issued by Saraki’s media aide, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu.

Saraki said his decision was based on the need to support the victims as their cases were indeed touching.

According to him, they were some of the major issues debated in the Eighth Senate.

Specifically, Saraki said 20 per cent of the severance allowance should go to the family of Leah Sharibu while 20 per cent should go to the family of Hauwa Liman.

He said another 20 per cent should be given to the family of another aid worker, Hussaini Ahmed Khoisan.

Khoisan was also murdered by the terrorists.

The remaining 40 per cent, he stated, should be used by the National Assembly Management to set up a trust fund to support the education of the children of senators of the eighth assembly who died.

Said he:  “It is my hope that this TRUST FUND should grow with more contributions from my dear colleagues, present, past and future, who may be moved to put in additional money into it.

“The Clerk of the National Assembly will immediately get an official letter from me mandating him to act as stated above on the disbursement of my Severance Allowance.”

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In a press statement issued on Monday and signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, the group said Nigerians should seize the opportunity of the fasting month of Ramadan to make the supplication.

Sharibu is the only girl still being held among others abducted from their school in Dapchi, Yobe State.

The statement by MURIC reads in part:  “We must admit that the continued stay of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls in Boko Haram’s detention camp is a dark spot on Nigeria’s white linen.

“Whereas the Federal Government (FG), the Muslim Ummah and its leadership desire freedom for those innocent girls, the insurgents are keeping them in captivity in order to achieve their diabolical aims, namely, to embarrass FG, to use them as human shields, to boost their negotiation power and to use them as a tool for setting Nigerian Christians and their Muslim compatriots against each other.

“The overall objective of Boko Haram is to ignite a religious war. That was why they started attacking places of worship. It was when that ploy failed that they resorted to abducting Christian girls with the hope of provoking Christiandom. This is why Nigeria’s religious leaders must exercise extra patience. They must not play into the hands of the insurgents. They must refrain from emotional outbursts. Instead, they must sink their differences and come together in the name of humanity to fight the evil in their midst. We reiterate that terrorists have no religion.

“This is why Nigerian Muslims must use prayers to defeat the enemy and secure freedom for our daughters. We feel their absence in our midst. We feel the pain of their closest relations. Our hearts go out to them wherever they may be. Prayer is the sword of the believer and a family that fasts together evolves and retains an unbreakable spiritual bond. Nigerian Muslims must invoke the incomparable spiritual might of Ramadan to neutralize the supposedly invincible power of Boko Haram to set Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls free.”

MURIC also called for prayers for peace, security, political stability and economic prosperity for Nigeria.

“Furthermore, we must use that special spiritual power of Ramadan to crush all powers of darkness and all agents of evil who are behind the incessant killings and kidnappings in Nigeria. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘When Ramadan comes, Shaytan is put in chains’. It is high time Nigerian Muslims utilized this Islamic truism to destroy killers and kidnappers.

“Before we stop hitting the keyboard, we call on fasting Muslims to make freedom for Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls their prayer points during this Ramadan. Pray that Nigeria is emancipated from ruthless killers and kidnappers. Pray for the exposure of rebellious subjects and enemies of peace. Pray for total security. Pray also for economic buoyancy and political stability,” the group added.

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Chibok girls are the students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, kidnapped by the terrorists group, Boko Haram, on April 14, 2014.

The Presidency who made the assertion of the president known also disclosed reasons behind the non-release of Leah Sharibu, the only student of Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, kidnapped along with others on February 19, 2018.

In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the Presidency said Buhari reminded the parents of the remaining Chibok girls that he had not forgotten their daughters still in the den of the kidnappers.

The Presidency said the president was aware that the  promise he made to bring back the girls was the main reason the people of Chibok voted overwhelmingly for him in the February elections.

He said although his government had so far succeeded in bringing back 107 of the girls, he would not rest until the remaining were reunited with their families.

President Buhari assured the parents that his administration was still on the matter.

Diverse efforts, the president was quoted as saying, were being intensified to secure the release of the Chibok girls, along with all hostages in Boko Haram captivity, including Leah Sharibu.

On Leah Sharibu’s abduction, the Presidency said the interlocutors had reported encouraging progress so far.

“The report reaching us says her return to her family has unfortunately been hindered by the fear of the militants.

“They worry that heavy military presence in areas where they previously moved about freely could affect their safety after they return her to the government.

“At the same time, the military cannot jeopardise the security of the entire north-eastern region by halting their operations to accommodate Boko Haram’s fears.

“Leah Sharibu will be reunited with her family as soon as any conclusions are reached on a number of options being considered for her safe transportation,” the statement reads in part.

The Presidency said the success of the Nigerian military in subduing Boko Haram was evident in the large numbers of militants who had surrendered recently, especially in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.

It said a similar mass surrender of militants was expected to happen soon in Nigeria.

The Presidency said while Nigerian military operations were ongoing, the government was also engaging with the militants but the talks had been affected by the factionalisation of Boko Haram – with one group adopting a hard line attitude and intensifying attacks on Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, and another group engaging with the government for peaceful resolution.

“President Buhari also uses this opportunity of the commemoration of the Chibok tragedy to commend the girls, now women, who have triumphed over it all.

“He sends special greetings to the 106 girls sponsored by the Nigerian government to continue their studies at the American University of Nigeria, Yola.

“He encourages them to stay focused on becoming women who will inspire girls in Nigeria and around the world to triumph over the daily battles they face in a world that is often unfair to the girl-child.

“President Buhari also extends his best wishes to Chibok girls in other schools in Nigeria and around the world.

“He sends special congratulations to Kauna Yaga Bitrus, who has excelled beyond expectations in her college in Maine, USA, and who is soon to receive a special ‘Against All Odds Award’ from her school,” the statement reads in part.

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It was exactly one year on Tuesday that Sharibu was abducted along with 109 others in their school, Government Girls’ Science and Technical College, GGSTC, Dapchi, located in Bulabulin, Yunusari Local Government area of Yobe State.

The terrorists released the other girls except Sharibu on the account that she refused to renounce her faith –Christianity.

In a statement issued by its Board Chairman, Ms Patience Key, the group said it was sad that Sharibu was still in den of the terrorists, one year after.

“NIDOA remembers and is deeply saddened by the predicament of Leah Sharibu.

“We call on the Nigerian government, Nigerians and the international community to unequivocally and forcefully denounce the continued captivity of Leah Sharibu, and to do everything in their power to secure her unconditional release.”

The group added:  “At no time and under no circumstance should a child, or any human being, ever be subjected to such brutal and inhumane violence and terror…

“NIDOA USA, Nigeria and the international community must continue to insist on Leah Sharibu’s unconditional release, and ensure she returns and reunites with her heartbroken parents.”

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