Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Leah Sharibu has been held captive by Boko Haram for three years.

The Government condemns the abduction of the Dapchi school girls in Nigeria in 2018 and the ongoing captivity of Leah Sharibu by Islamic State West Africa (ISWA). We are deeply concerned for the welfare of Leah and all those abducted by Boko Haram and ISWA. Officials at the British High Commission in Abuja raised Leah's case with the Nigerian authorities in February 2021. The Nigerian authorities have assured us that they remain committed to securing her return.

The Government is providing a comprehensive package of support to Nigeria to help tackle the terrorist threat in the North East. We regularly raise the issues of insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria at the highest levels of the Nigerian Government, and will continue to use our public messaging to call for the release of Leah and all those abducted by terrorist groups in Nigeria.