Abducted, Renamed, and Converted by Authority of Muslim State Officials
By TruthNigeria Staff
Julie Nwafor (pseudonym used for her security), a teenage girl living in Kano, northern Nigeria found herself pregnant. Her boyfriend denied responsibility, and her parents were deeply disappointed.
In her moment of despair, she was offered shelter by Dr. Mercy Tarfa, who runs the Du Merci Children Development Ministry in Kano. “Dr. Mercy took me in and registered me for antenatal care at a nearby hospital,” Julie recalled. “Eventually, I gave birth to a baby boy, whom I named ‘Emmanuel’.” Unable to care for her son at the time, Julie entrusted Emmanuel to the Du Merci orphanage while she returned to school. She earned her high school diploma, enrolled in university, and completed a degree.
However, her life took a shocking turn in 2019, during her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), when she received a call from the orphanage. “They told me my son and many other children had been taken away by the Kano State Government,” she said. “The state claimed that the orphanage lacked proper registration documents and was operating illegally. Dr. Mercy’s husband was prosecuted.”
Although the court later ruled that the charges against the orphanage were baseless and acquitted him, the Kano State Government refused to return the children, including Emmanuel. According to Julie, “the most heartbreaking part was learning that her son had been converted to Islam by the state.”
“Kano State officials have held my son since he was 12 years old. Now he is 18,” she said. “They changed his name from Emmanuel to Muhammad. Initially, they barred me from seeing him for several days but after much pressure, I was allowed visitation.”
Her distress deepened after speaking with him. “My son told me he was confused and afraid to come back to me,” she explained. “Though we spoke, I could tell his conversations was monitored. He’s guarded and measured in what he says.”
“I just want my son back,” Julie went on to say. “I did not give birth to a Muslim. Kano State is trying to force Islam on my son.”
Plight of Julie Nwafor Reflects the Agonies of Many Parents
Twenty-seven children were taken from the Du Mercy orphanages in Kano and Kaduna and the names of those still held by Kano are: Destiny, Emmanuel, David, Solomon, Moses, Comfort, Small Emmanuel, Peace, Joshua, Deborah, Paul, Elizabeth, Esther, Mercy, Divine, and Martha.
Court Order Defied: Children Allegedly Bribed and Threatened to Convert
Renowned international human rights lawyer, Barrister Emmanuel Ogebe, who has been advocating for the return of the children, described how the situation escalated when the state defied a court order.
“We arrived in Kano on March 18, expecting the lawful release of the children,” he said. “But shockingly, we learned that the children had allegedly been given videos, iPads, iPhones, and other incentives — along with threats — to dissuade them from returning to Christianity.”
According to Ogebe, the court had ordered that the children be returned before or by March 19. However, when they showed up for the handover, they were told the Commissioner was “suddenly unavailable.”
“We waited for hours, hoping the court’s directive would be honored,” Ogebe said. “Instead, we witnessed chaos. The orphanage proprietor was physically shoved by unknown individuals at the government’s orphanage,” Ogebe went on to say.
Abuse of Power
Ogebe believes the Kano State Government’s actions go beyond administrative lapses — they represent a dangerous abuse of power. “In Kano, it seems we’re dealing with a different republic,” he said. “We were openly told: ‘This is Kano. We’ll do what we want — and nothing will happen.’”
“These threats were issued to us directly on camera,” Ogebe said.
Ogebe, who has decades of global legal experience, said he never expected such blatant disregard for the rule of law. “My team was in Indonesia barely a year ago to effect the release and repatriation of a Nigerian on death row for decades. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, and they treated us much better,” he said.
He added that after the international observer team departed for the United States, state officials filed a motion to set aside the very court order they had previously drafted, signed and agreed to obey. “In their filing, they claimed that some of the children had converted to Islam, and, for that reason, they would not be returned,” according to Ogebe.
“This confirms our worst fears — a state-sponsored religious conversion agenda,” Ogebe said, adding that “We suspected it when they changed the children’s names. Now, they’ve put it in writing.”
Parallels with Boko Haram’s Tactics
“To be clear,” Ogebe said, “this is state-sponsored kidnapping and forced religious conversion.
“I see no difference between what the Kano State Government is doing and what Boko Haram did when they abducted schoolchildren and forced them into Islam in the forest. The main difference is the setting,” Ogebe said.
“The Chibok girls have been held by Boko Haram for 11 years, Leah Sharibu by ISWAP for seven years, and the Du Merci 16 by Kano government for almost six years,” Ogebe went on to say.
A Christian Orphanage Targeted for Its Faith
Ogebe also drew attention to the sustained persecution faced by Prof. Solomon Tarfa, founder of Du Merci Children Development Ministry. “Du Merci is a legally registered Christian orphanage that has rescued and cared for abandoned children for decades, but officials raided it under false pretenses,” he said.
On Christmas Day 2019, Prof. Tarfa was arrested at Du Merci orphanage. “His only ‘crime’ was offering a safe haven to orphans — many rescued from the streets,” said Ogebe. “The state tried to disguise its religiously motivated crackdown with legal accusations: operating an unregistered orphanage, kidnapping, forgery,” he added.
“All charges were ultimately dismissed by the courts,” Ogebe added. In 2023, the Nigerian Court of Appeal acquitted Tarfa of the final charge, affirming that the entire case lacked merit and affirming the good work of Professor Tarfa.
A Systemic Assault on Christian Institutions
Ogebe concluded with a warning: “This was not justice delayed — it was justice abused. We are witnessing a dangerous pattern in which Christian institutions, particularly those involved in education or social care, are being systematically targeted in some northern states under the guise of regulation.”
Despite court rulings and public outcry, the 16 children — including Emmanuel — remain in state custody over a month after the date set by the court and Kano state for their release.
