As
last Wednesday approached, Professor Solomon Tarfa eagerly anticipated
the release of 16 children taken five years ago from Du Merci orphanage,
which he and his wife run. Nigerian authorities have illegally detained
the children since they were removed from the orphanage.
Despite
a court settlement mandating the Kano State Ministry of Women,
Children, and Disabled Affairs to release the children on March 19,
Tarfa remains empty-handed following what seems to be another government
stall tactic.
The
Commissioner for Women, Children, and Disabled Affairs announced on
March 20 that the children’s release will be postponed “until the
Attorney General of Kano State returns from Mecca in two weeks.” Tarfa
has been in a legal battle with government officials since the children
were removed from the couple’s orphanage in December 2019.
This
latest setback is one of many Tarfa has faced in his legal battle. It
took a miracle for this agreement to have been made in court. A judge
from the Kano State High Court 12 initially said he had “too many cases
to deal with that are more important,” refusing to grant Tarfa and the
children a trial. He urged the parties to settle outside of court,
issuing a deadline of June 4, 2024, to “get back to him.”
Professor
Tarfa and his wife, Mercy, founded Du Merci Orphanage in 1996. For more
than two decades, the couple rescued abandoned children with the
mission “to glorify God by ministering to orphans and vulnerable
children by meeting their mental, physical, spiritual, and social
needs.”
Nigerian
officials raided the Christian orphanage on Christmas Day in 2019.
Police officers and authorities from the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP)
confiscated 29 children — 13 were later returned — and moved them to
government-run facilities. Professor Tarfa was detained and imprisoned
on alleged charges of kidnapping and abduction.
While
in government custody, authorities split the children up, including
siblings, and forced them to recite Arabic, study Islam, and attend
prayers in a mosque. Since the children had Christian names, authorities
gave them Muslim names.
In
June 2021, Tarfa went before the Kano High Court and was acquitted of
his kidnapping and abduction charges. However, a day before the trial
was set to end, the prosecution presented forgery charges in connection
with Du Merci’s official registration document.
Although
Tarfa received the registration document from the government, the
prosecution accused his document of being fake as it did not have a
proper serial number. Professor Tarfa was found guilty and remained in
prison.
In
April 2022, Tarfa appealed the forged document ruling, and almost a
year later, the Court of Appeals acquitted Tarfa of all charges.
Today,
Tarfa wants the Nigerian government to be held accountable and return
the remaining children. He has asked Kano state to pay reparations for
his illegal imprisonment, false accusations, and the illegal
confiscation of his children.
The
reparations would also cover the costs of rebuilding Du Merci
Orphanage, which was demolished by the government. They also would cover
the cost of rent for Professor Tarfa, his wife, and the released
children, who had to relocate to an apartment. The government has
refused to pay Tarfa for its wrongdoings, escalating the situation
before the High Court 12 in Kano state.
International
Christian Concern (ICC) calls for the remaining children wrongly
detained by the Nigerian government to be released and continues to pray
for them. We pray that Nigerian authorities will recognize their
wrongdoings, release the children, and pay Tarfa and his wife the
reparations they deserve.
To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.
