Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has
assured the families of kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirl Leah Sharibu and
two abducted aid workers that the Federal Government will leave no
stone unturned to secure their release.
The Minister gave the assurance on Friday when he led a three-member
Federal Government delegation to Maiduguri, Borno State and Dapchi
in Yobe State.
In Dapchi, the delegation, which also includes Hajiya Aisha Abubakar,
the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, who also
oversees Women Affairs, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,
Hajiya Khadija Abba Bukar Ibrahim, met with Mrs Rebecca Sharibu,
Mother of Leah, as well as other members of their family at an
emotion-laden ceremony.
Mohammed said President Muhammadu Buhari sent the delegation as
a follow-up to his phone call to Leah’s mother a few days ago, adding
that the government will not rest until Leah has been reunited with
her family.
Visibly excited students of the Government Girls Science and Technical
College, Dapchi, from where Leah and about 109 of her colleagues were
abducted on 19th February 2018, trooped out to welcome the delegation when
the chopper that ferried them to Dapchi landed in the school premises.
Earlier, the delegation also met with the families of the three aid
workers who were abducted in March 2018.
At the meeting, which was held in the Borno State Government House,
Mohammed reassured them of the Government’s efforts to secure
the release of the two that remained in captivity, Alice Loksha and
Amina Liman.
He also condoled with the parents of the third aid worker, Saifura
Hussaini Ahmed, who was killed by her abductors last month.
The Minister said this is a trying time for the government and people
of Borno State, but praised the government’s resilience in tackling
the challenges arising from the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Deputy Governor of Borno, Alhaji Usman Durkwa, who received the
delegation, expressed gratitude to President Buhari for sending the
delegation to the state, saying this shows that the President is a
true leader.
