Leah Sharibu and 109 other girls at her school were kidnapped on February 19, 2018, by the U.S.-designated Muslim terror group Boko Haram. Five girls died and 104 were released several months later—but not Leah. She was only 14 years old. As a Christian, Leah refused to convert to Islam, and her captors declared her their “slave for life” because she would not renounce Christ.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) designated Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) because people of faith are routinely kidnapped, abused, and murdered for their faith. The USCIRF also recognized Leah as an official Religious Prisoner of Conscience, despite the fact that the U.S. State Department does not currently list Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.”