Lecturer, 10 other hostages beg Nigerian govt to rescue them from Boko Haram captivity

A college lecturer and 10 other people who were abducted recently by Boko Haram insurgents, on Sunday appealed to the Nigerian government to come to their rescue.

The hostages, who are mostly Christians from Yobe State, also pleaded with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to help secure their freedom.

The victims appeared in a video shared by the terrorists and called for help from the Nigerian authorities and concerned individuals and organizations, including CAN.

In the short video, one of the victims, Bitrus Bwala, a principal lecturer at the College of Education Gashua, Yobe State, spoke on behalf of the other hostages.

He said: “I was on my way to my station on the 27th of November 2019 when I was abducted by the Tilafa army (Boko Haram).

“I appeal to the federal government to come to our aid.”

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The college lecturer said Leah Sharibu, one of the students abducted from the Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, is still with the Boko Haram fighters.

“While all the other girls were released after negotiations with the federal government, Miss Sharibu was not released allegedly for refusing to denounce her Christian faith.

“We also say that the government has not done enough, that is why Leah Sharibu is still with this group,” Bwala added.

He also said the hostages witnessed last week’s execution of four humanitarian aid workers who were abducted in August.

He insisted that the hostages are not safe and urged CAN to intervene promptly and save their lives.

“As you can see sitting behind me are fellow Christians who were abducted at various different points and brought to this place.

“I, equally, appeal to the Christian Association of Nigeria to do whatever they could do within their reach to come and rescue us. This is because when we came here, we saw some workers here, especially workers of food organizations. But they were later executed,” he concluded.

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