Founder, Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr Fredrick Fasehun has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the release of Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl, before Easter.
Fasehun described the detention of Leah Sharibu for refusing to renounce her Christian faith as unfortunate despite negotiations with government representatives and Boko Haram.
He said, “That the Federal Government agreed to such a divisive deal is dangerous, insensitive and unpatriotic.
“Nobody should make a martyr of that small girl. Her ordeal for being a Christian makes many Nigerians to wonder if religion is why the government appears to be foot-dragging in negotiating the release of the Chibok girls, many of whom are Christians.
“The Leah episode is an international embarrassment and it is another heartbreaking proof, plus others like the unchecked killings by Fulani herdsmen, that PMB belongs to some people and not to others.”
Fasehun further called on eminent Muslims such as the Sultan of Sokoto and all northern emirs to mount pressure on Boko Haram for the quick release of the young girl.
He added, “There is no other way for these Muslim leaders to convince the world of their disagreement with Boko Haram’s philosophy and action than to call for her (Leah’s) immediate return and their denunciation of this gross violation of Leah’s rights to life, belief, movement, conscience and association, as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter and United Nations Conventions.”
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