Captive refused to convert for terrorists

LAGOS, NIGERIA » The mother of the only Nigerian schoolgirl still in Boko Haram captivity after the extremists released 104 classmates said Thursday her daughter was blocked from boarding the vehicle to freedom and told to convert to Islam.

Fifteen-year- old Leah refused, Rebecca Sharibu told The Associated Press.

Leah Sharibu, who is Christian, asked her departing Muslim classmates to pray for her.

President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed that Sharibu was the only schoolgirl still held by Boko Haram after the extraordinary release of the girls on Wednesday and vowed that she “will not be abandoned.”

Buhari, himself a Muslim, said “true followers of Islam all over the world respect the injunction that there is no compulsion in religion.” He added that he looked forward to meeting with the girls who were freed.