NEWS
“Another Guy Who Was a Strong Boko Haram Fighter, a Commander, Married Leah… So Probably 3 Husbands From What I Have Described Now” — Gideon Para-Mallam, Reveals Disturbing Details of Leah Sharibu’s Life in Boko Haram Captivity
Eight years after the abduction of schoolgirls from Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, new revelations have emerged about the life of abducted Nigerian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu, who remains in captivity.
The disclosures were made by Nigerian peace advocate Gideon Para-Mallam, Chief Executive Officer of the Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallam Peace Foundation, during an interview with Channels Television, where he shared disturbing details of what Sharibu has reportedly endured since she was taken by insurgents.
Sharibu was among the 110 schoolgirls abducted on February 19, 2018, when terrorists from the extremist group Boko Haram attacked the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State.
According to Para-Mallam, shortly after the abduction, Leah was reportedly sold to an older man who forced her into marriage while she remained in captivity. During the period she lived with him, she gave birth to a child.
He explained that after living with the man for about one or two years, Leah reportedly asked for a divorce and the man eventually granted her request, ending the forced union.
However, her ordeal continued. Para-Mallam revealed that she was later married off to another man described as a powerful Boko Haram commander. Leah reportedly gave birth to a second child during that marriage.
The peace advocate further disclosed that the commander who married Leah was later killed on December 31, 2022, during violent clashes between rival insurgent factions, the faction loyal to late extremist leader Abubakar Shekau and the rival militant group Islamic State West Africa Province.
Following the death of the commander, Para-Mallam said another man within the insurgent group took Leah as his wife, and she subsequently gave birth to another child while still in captivity.
In Mallam’s words:
“Another guy who was a strong Boko Haram Fighter, a commander, married Leah. So her second child came from that man but that man was killed in December 31, 2022 when there were clashes between Shekau’s Boko Haram faction and ISWAP faction. After that again another man picked Leah and then she gave birth to another child. So probably 3 husbands from what I have described now.”
Para-Mallam used the interview to renew calls for urgent action from the Nigerian government, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intensify efforts to secure Leah’s rescue from captivity.
Sharibu’s case has remained one of Nigeria’s most symbolic unresolved abduction tragedies since the 2018 Dapchi school attack. While most of the abducted girls were eventually released, Leah was reportedly held back by the insurgents after refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
Her continued captivity has drawn persistent calls from human rights advocates, religious organizations, and members of the international community, who continue to press the Nigerian government to prioritize efforts to bring her home safely after years of suffering in insurgent
-controlled territory.