Nigeria | April 11, 2024
Get involved
Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus.
Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.
Boko Haram has killed an aid worker and threatened to kill three other hostages, including the Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu.
Boko Haram has killed an aid worker and threatened to kill three other hostages, including the Christian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu.
Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa, 25, who worked as midwife with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), had been abducted on 1 March, alongside two other health workers, when the militants attacked the north-eastern town of Rann, near the border with Cameroon.
In a video seen by the Nigerian online magazine The Cable, the insurgents claimed they had contacted the government over the captives but did not get any response.
“We contacted the government through writing and also sent audio messages but the government have ignored us. So, here is a message of blood,” said a spokesman of the group. “The other nurse and midwife will be executed in similar manner in one month, including Leah Sharibu.”
The killing of the midwife has been widely condemned by many, including the ICRC, who described her as a devoted mother of two.
In a statement, the head of the ICRC delegation in Nigeria, Eloi Fillion, said he was ‘devastated’ by her murder, noting that she was moved to Rann ‘to selflessly help those in need’. He also urged the captors to release the two other health workers, Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha Ngaddah.
Leah was one of over 100 girls who were abducted from Dapchi by Boko Haram, but she was the only Christian in the group. When the others were released, 15-year-old Leah remained in captivity because she refused to deny her faith in Jesus.
Her decision to stand for Christ made her father, Natha, proud. He has said, “The confidence and faith of my daughter in the face of death in the hands of Boko Haram, to say she will never denounce Christ, made me realise that I had been living with a strong follower of Christ in my house. I am highly encouraged by her strong faith in the Lord.”
Leah’s mother, Rebeccah, has asked for continued prayers for Leah, saying, “I know that all over the world believers are praying and advocating for the release of my daughter, but until now I haven’t seen my Leah. I want to plead that Christians: do not get tired of praying for her, 'til she is returned.”
Natha and Rebeccah were recently encouraged to hear an audio recording of Leah, asking the President of Nigeria to intervene in her case, and confirming that she was still alive. This renewed threat against her life brings them fresh sorrow and fear. Please join them in praying for Leah’s protection and freedom, as well as for the safe release of the two health workers who have been threatened, Hauwa Mohammed Liman and Alice Loksha Ngaddah, and for comfort for the family of Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa.
22 March: 101 Kidnapped girls released, but Christian girl still missing
9 April: Nigerian Christians and Muslims come together to pray for Christian girl held by Boko Haram
25 April: ‘Christians, don’t get tired of praying for Leah!’
3 September: Update on Leah Sharubi, abducted in Nigeria: ‘Your prayers give us the strength to carry on’
Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus.
Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.
