Leah Sharibu is a Christian and has refused to convert to Islam.

“A threat has been sent out that with effect from October, Leah will be the next in line to be killed,” said Rebecca Sharibu as reported by the Nigerian Guardian newspaper and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). They report that Mrs Sharibu “pleaded with federal government to do whatever is required to ensure her release before that time.”

Leah Sharibu is a Christian and has refused to convert to Islam. This meant she was not among the 100 girls who were released by Boko Haram earlier this year, according to Morning Star, a Christian news agency.

CSW reports that the Boko Haram faction that is holding Leah Sharibu threatened to kill her and her fellow hostages, midwife Hauwa Mohammed Liman and nurse Alice Loksha Ngaddah, following the September 16 execution of Saifura Husseini Ahmed, a humanitarian worker who they had abducted in March. A Boko Haram spokesperson described the execution of the 25-year-old mother of two as “a message in blood” to the Nigerian government, which had allegedly failed to respond to unspecified previous written and oral demands.

“No sacrifice is too much to get these girls released.” – Nicholas Okoh

The Boko Haram demands have not been made public by the government or the Sharibu family.

Leaders of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), the Sharibu family’s church, directed all its congregations in and outside Nigeria to observe three days of fasting and prayers, Morning Star reports.

The letter, entitled “URGENT PRAYER CONCERN,” calls for prayer and fasting for Leah’s release and that of other Boko Haram abductees and calls on Christians across the world to join the church in praying for their release.

“We urge other churches worldwide to join us,” it reads. “Thank you for standing in the gap.”

The head of Nigeria’s Anglican Church also voiced his concern. “No sacrifice is too much to get these girls released,” Nicholas Okoh primate (head) of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) said. “In the interest of democracy, freedom of religion and national cohesion, sufficient effort should be made to bring their ordeal and that of their parents and families to an end.”