A Christian mother in Jos, Plateau State, has appealed to the government, security agencies and relevant authorities to intervene in the prolonged stay of her 17-year-old daughter, Faith Barnabas, in an orphanage in Bauchi State.
The mother, Mrs. Kumabe Zakari, who spoke during an interview, alleged that her daughter was taken to Bauchi following an incident surrounding her reported conversion to Islam and subsequent relationship with a young man.
According to her, Faith’s father died when she was young, and she had personally raised her daughter from the age of three, taking responsibility for her education and upbringing in the Christian faith.
“She is 17 years old. Her father is late. Since she was three years old, I have been taking care of her, right from nursery school through secondary school,” she said.
She said the matter began when Faith left home to sit for an examination but did not return, prompting the family to begin searching for her.
According to her, the family was later informed that Faith had converted to Islam and that her name had also been changed. She said the development prompted her to travel to Bauchi to find out what had happened to her daughter.
Mrs. Zakari said Faith was eventually handed over to her and brought to Jos, where they stayed for about five days before the teenager reportedly disappeared again.
The mother alleged that Faith had used a neighbour’s phone to contact a young man identified as Sadik Ahmed, who subsequently travelled to Jos and took her away.
She said the family reported the matter to the police, who later contacted the girl who had provided the phone and discovered through a telephone conversation that Faith was with Ahmed.
According to the mother, Ahmed was subsequently arrested in Bauchi and admitted that Faith was with him, but claimed that he had taken her to Kaduna. She said the police gave him three days to return the teenager, after which she was brought back.
However, she alleged that instead of being reunited with her family, Faith was taken to the Sharia Commission and later placed in an orphanage while investigations continued.
Mrs. Kumabe Zakari said she initially reported the matter as an abduction case but alleged that it was later treated as a religious issue. She further claimed that an official at the Sharia Commission told the family that Faith could only visit them under certain conditions, including renting a house and taking her to visit the family before returning her later in the day.
The mother said she rejected the arrangement, insisting that she remained alive and capable of taking care of her daughter.
She also alleged that Faith told her during a conversation that she had converted because she wanted to marry the young man and that the boy’s mother had told her she would not be allowed to marry him unless she converted.
The dispute subsequently moved through different police units and eventually into the courts, according to the mother.
She said Faith was brought before the police Gender Unit, where the teenager allegedly expressed fears about returning home and threatened to harm herself.
According to Mrs. Zakari, the Gender Unit consequently decided that Faith should be kept temporarily in a home for two weeks to allow her to settle emotionally before being handed over to her family.
She said a court order was subsequently obtained directing that the teenager be brought back, but alleged that disagreements over the implementation of the order stalled the process.
The mother further claimed that the police argued that the order should have been directed specifically to them because they were responsible for taking Faith to the orphanage.
She said the family later approached the Federal High Court in Jos after what she described as delays in Bauchi, but alleged that the matter had not proceeded as expected.
The mother said that despite subsequent efforts involving senior police officers in Bauchi, Faith had still not been returned to her.
She alleged that she and her lawyer recently met with the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police in Bauchi, who, according to her, directed that the teenager be brought back because no counter-order had been presented.
She, however, claimed that the officer in charge of the Gender Unit failed to secure her daughter’s release despite the directives.
According to her, the family was kept waiting for several hours while correspondence was being exchanged with authorities concerning the orphanage.
The mother said she was eventually directed to meet the Criminal Investigation Department, but left without seeing her daughter or receiving what she considered a satisfactory explanation.
She expressed deep concern about Faith’s safety and wellbeing, saying the prolonged separation had taken an emotional toll on her.
“I am seriously not myself. Staying without my daughter has really affected me. She is my first daughter,” she said.
She said her greatest fear was the uncertainty surrounding her daughter’s safety and living conditions, alleging that Faith had been provided with a phone through which someone else allegedly controls incoming calls.
Despite the difficulties, the mother said her faith in God remained her major source of strength. “Up to now, I am not myself. It is only God that has been sustaining me,” she said.
She also appealed to the Christian community and the international community to remember her and her daughter in their prayers, saying she wanted Faith to return home and have the opportunity to pursue her future.
“My hope is for her to come out of that place. I want her to have a future,” she said.
The mother also appealed directly to her daughter to return home, insisting that she was willing and able to continue caring for her, calling on government, the judiciary and security agencies to intervene in the matter and ensure that the case is resolved.
“I want the government and other people to help me get my daughter out of that place. I am not happy that she is staying there. I am still alive, and I can take care of her,” she said.
The mother alleged that the continued delay was largely connected to the handling of the case by an officer of the Gender Unit. She insisted that what she was seeking was justice and the safe return of her daughter, saying: “There is no justice when the OC Gender rejects the court order.”
