Eight children ‘kidnapped’ by police in Nigeria remain held

Please pray for the imminent release of eight children in Nigeria who remain held after being taken by the authorities almost six years ago.

Eight of the 27 children taken from a Christian orphanage in Nigeria by police almost six years ago are still being arbitrarily held in awful conditions, despite pressure from local and international bodies.

On Christmas Day 2019, armed police stormed the Christian-run Du Merci orphanage in Kano State, seizing 19 children and forcibly taking them into custody. Six days later, Du Merci’s Kaduna State branch was raided, with a further eight children taken. The orphanage’s founder, Professor Solomon Tarfa, and his wife, Mercy, were accused of illegally running the homes.

The charges proved baseless, after it was shown in court that Du Merci had operated correctly and legally for decades. After almost a year in jail, Solomon was released and acquitted. However, Kano State prosecutors then sought fresh charges, this time accusing him of forging a registration certificate. In court scenes that surprised legal observers, he was sentenced to two years in prison.

Malnutrition, burns and psychological pressure

As the Tarfa family has fought the decision, some of the 27 children have been gradually released, bringing to light the horrific treatment they’ve encountered in custody.  

As well as facing attempts to convert them to Islam, the children have suffered health problems, including one girl who suffered burns from a fire in the poorly-run state facility holding them. They’ve also experienced malnutrition, relocation to remote areas, enforced name changes and disruption to their education.

“They said they were rescuing us, but they were kidnapping us,” Gabriella, now a 22-year-old student at university, told Nigerian media. “They took us to a government orphanage and treated us like criminals. Our only crime was being raised by a man they falsely accused.”

“We prayed in whispers, hiding our Bibles,” says her brother, Joseph. “When they realised we wouldn’t break [and convert to Islam], they released us – the older ones – but kept the younger children who couldn’t fight back.”

On 13 August, amidst reports that one girl had suffered a mental breakdown, eight more children were returned to the Tarfa’s. But eight more – including the very youngest of the original 27 – remain in arbitrary detention.

Local and international pressure

The verdict and treatment have drawn widespread condemnation, including from some members of the local government in Kano State. “Kano should focus on almajiris (orphans) in need, and leave the Du Merci kids to return to their loving home,” the Kano State Health Commissioner, Abubakar Labaran, told the media earlier this year.

“As we told the Kano Ministry of Women’s Affairs, in our two visits to the state in March, it is unreasonable to think that the state can take better care of these children than Professor Tarfa and his wife, who are seasoned educators and humanitarians with three decades of service in Kano.

“No right-thinking Nigerian believes that a government with limited resources wants to spend money on orphans that an NGO is already caring for, especially against the wishes of the parents of the children, who include unwed teen mums.”

Four years ago, the UN declared Solomon and the children still in custody at the time to be victims of arbitrary detention, and called for their immediate release. Legal experts believe the details constitute serious violations of the 1999 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, to which Nigeria is signatory.

It’s understood the eight still held are subject to a pending review by the Kano State Attorney General of the Kano State High Court’s judgment that all children should be returned to the Du Merci centre on or before 19 March 2025.

Vulnerability of children in Nigeria

“Open Doors urgently calls for the immediate release of the Du Merci orphans who remain arbitrarily detained by the Nigerian state, contrary to the ruling of Kano State High Court ordering for their immediate release”, says John Samuel*, Open Doors’ legal expert for sub-Saharan Africa.

“Nigeria must uphold its constitutional and international obligations to protect vulnerable populations regardless of faith. The pending review by Kano’s Attorney General must be conducted with integrity and transparency, without further delay. Six years of injustice is enough – these children need their freedom now.”

Despite constitutional protections, Nigeria’s youths remain among the world’s most vulnerable children. Mass kidnappings by extremists, detention by security forces, corporal punishment, child trafficking and bonded labour are all widespread, making Nigeria one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a child.

The Du Merci orphans case exemplifies this crisis. For six years, Christian children have been arbitrarily detained and denied their fundamental rights – all under the guise of state protection.

Please pray for Nigeria’s children, and keep an eye out for the forthcoming children at Christmas campaign, which will give you the opportunity to come alongside young Christians facing persecution in Nigeria and across the world.

*Name changed for security reasons