Only God Knows When Leah Sharibu Will Return – Presidential Spokesman

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, says God alone knows when Leah Sharibu, kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirl, will be rescued.

Adesina said this on Tuesday, when he appeared as a guest on Channels TV programme.

“For how much longer, I think that question can only be answered by God. I believe that God is interested in that young girl and will ensure that she is preserved,” he said when asked to give a time-frame for Sharibu’s rescue.

“I think when that clip that we have is verified, at least one will be sure that it’s her and when that is determined, we should all be glad that she is alive.

“When will she return? By the grace of God, the government is working on it and we believe she will be back.”

The schoolgirl was abducted in February, alongside more than 118 others.

The terrorist group, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, released all the girls who were captured, except five who reportedly died in detention, but refused to release Sharibu for refusing to renounce her faith.

Online news platform, The Cable, had on Monday released an audio recording of Sharibu, pleading with the President not to forget her in the hands of her captors.

Adesina said President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to ensure Sharibu is rescued and safely re-united with her family, even it requires paying for her release.

“One thing we should always remember, as Nigerians, is that early in the life of this administration, then it was Chibok girls, the president said that whatever it will take to get the girls back including paying, he would do. It’s on record,” the presidential spokesman said.

He dismissed the UN report that the federal government paid ransom for the rescue of the other 110 girls released in March.

“That is not confirming that there was payment on Dapchi because the then DG of DSS was categorical the day the girls were brought back and it was in public glare that not a dime was paid for Dapchi girls. On Dapchi, there was no payment,” he said.