Prolonged Legal Proceedings Compounding Trauma of Children Seized from Nigerian Orphanage: Christian Human Rights Group

He added, “The prolonged legal proceedings are compounding the trauma of these children, who have now been separated from the only parents most of them have ever known for five years.”

 “We urge the Kano State authorities to rectify the grave injustices this family has endured by ensuring the return of all of the children, and that reparations are made in accordance with the UN Working Group’s ruling,” he said.

The 16 children were part of a group of 27 taken from the Du Merci Centres in Kano and Kaduna after the arrest of Prof. Tarfa, their adoptive father, on Christmas Day in 2019.

Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs subsequently placed the children in the Nasarawa Children’s Home, a government-run facility in Kano City. According to CSW, the children faced mistreatment, isolation, and pressure to convert to Islam while in state custody.

CSW reports that in 2021, five of the youngest children, aged between three and eight, were moved to a remote facility reportedly owned by the former governor of Kano State.

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At the location, the children’s names are said to have been changed, and they were required to recite Arabic, study the Qur’an, and attend a mosque. CSW reports that the five children were eventually returned to the Kano City orphanage, but by then, they no longer recognized their siblings.

In June 2021, a Nigerian court acquitted Professor Tarfa of charges alleging he abducted children and confined them in an unregistered orphanage.

He was also acquitted of forgery by an appeals court in January 2023. However, despite these rulings, authorities have not yet returned the children to the custody of Professor Tarfa and his wife, Mercy.

Following hearings on 28 November 2023 and 15 February 2024, the presiding judge at High Court 12 in Bompai Complex, Kano City, urged the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs and the Tarfas to pursue an out-of-court settlement regarding the children’s future.

However, CSW reports that the Tarfas and their legal team encountered difficulties in arranging meetings with ministry officials to finalize such a settlement. Attempts to communicate with the Commissioner for Women Affairs and other relevant officials were reportedly unsuccessful.

According to the November 6 CSW report, an 11-year-old girl named Esther was recently taken from the Nasarawa Orphanage without her siblings’ knowledge or the consent of the Tarfas and their legal representatives.

The Christian human rights group says that her current location is unknown, although there is speculation that she may have been sent to an Islamic boarding school in preparation for an early marriage.

CSW urged Kano State authorities to “rectify the grave injustices this family has endured by ensuring the return of all of the children, and that reparations are made in accordance with the UN Working Group’s ruling.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.