Presidency Reacts To Viral Video Of Abducted Aid Workers, Claiming ‘Leah Sharibu Is Dead’

The Presidency has reacted to a video of some humanitarian workers who were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Northeast Nigeria, calling on the government to come to their rescue.

The workers, six of them, were captured during an ambush on their convoy close to the border with Niger on July 18, in an attack that left another driver dead.

In the trending video, an abducted female aid worker identified as Grace Taku claimed that Leah alongside one Alice had been killed by the insurgents because of the Federal Government’s inability to “do something”.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the Presidency had been briefed about the video.

He, however, did not confirm or deny if Leah Sharibu had been killed. The statement read:

“The presidency has been briefed by the responsible government agency about the disturbing video showing our citizens, the humanitarian aid workers held captive.

“Presidency has been given assurances that contact is being made and the captors are being talked to,” the statement said.

It added that apart from the aid workers, this engagement also concerns Leah Sharibu, a religious leader and many others.

The statement added that the discussions have been ongoing even before now, stressing that what this latest incident has done is to bring urgency to the efforts that the secret service is making.

“Government is making contacts, in the hope that the captors will see reason to not visit hardship or even harm on these innocent individuals,” the statement said.