Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A Christian family from Plateau State has lodged a formal petition with the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, alleging that their 17‑year‑old daughter, Jinkai Simon, was forcibly converted to Islam and married off in Kano by officials of the Kano State Hisbah Board after she went missing in Zaria. The petition, dated May 6, 2026, accuses the religious police of systematically erasing the teenager’s identity – changing her name to Aisha Sani, falsifying her age from 17 to 19 and forging parental consent documents to make the marriage appear legal. The family, represented by legal counsel, has submitted purported photographic evidence of Jinkai in a hijab alongside Hisbah officials, as well as copies of the alleged forged birth certificates and an affidavit she was made to swear before a Kano State High Court.
Jinkai, a student of St. Bartholomew’s Secondary School in Wusasa, Zaria, was reported missing on March 9, 2026, after she left for school and never returned. She had been living with her elder sister, Jennifer Simon, in the Kuregu area of Zaria. School authorities confirmed that Jinkai attended classes on the day of her disappearance but left the premises shortly after examinations began. Her sister told SaharaReporters that a neighbour soon alerted the family that Jinkai had been seen moving her belongings to the home of a friend identified as Rukkayya. When questioned, Rukkayya initially denied any knowledge. Jennifer later discovered that Jinkai had been in communication with a man identified only as Abdulsamad.
The family escalated the matter to community leaders, including the Sarkin Wusasa (village head) and the school chaplain, who alerted the Department of State Services. However, weeks passed without any action. According to the family, Rukkaiya eventually informed them that Jinkai had converted to Islam and was taken to Kano, where she was handed over to the Kano State Hisbah Board. The petition, which TheCable obtained, states that the board changed the girl’s name from Jinkai Simon to Aisha Sani, then married her off to Abdulsamad. “The Hisbah Board, upon receiving the girl, changed her name from Jinkai Simon to Aisha Sani and married her off to one Abdulsamad, and as such is now going by the name Aisha Abdulsamad,” the petition reads.
The family further alleges that the Hisbah board falsified documents to alter Jinkai’s age from 17 to 19. According to the petition, the teenager was taken before a Kano State High Court, where she swore an affidavit declaring herself to be 19 years old. The parents also accuse the board of forging consent documents purportedly signed by them. “In order to perpetrate these illegal acts, the Hisbah Board went as far as forging consent documents purported to have been signed by parents, including causing her to swear to an affidavit that she is 19 years old,” the family said.
The family has petitioned the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police to investigate the matter and ensure the teenager’s safe return. Copies were sent to the Inspector‑General of Police, the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Wusasa, Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria and the youth wing of CAN in Kaduna State. The Kano State Hisbah Board had not issued a public response as of press time.
The Plateau State Youth Council has since called the allegations “disturbing” and pressed for an urgent investigation by the DSS, the police and NAPTIP, asserting that as a minor, Jinkai cannot give informed consent, and any manipulation of her identity and religious affiliation “constitutes a grave injustice that must not be tolerated.” Legal and child rights advocate Hayatudeen Ali urged the public to await a thorough investigation before reaching conclusions, cautioning that missing‑minor cases involving religion and identity require careful handling. Meanwhile, Jinkai’s sister, Jennifer, said the family could no longer reach her. “She is just 17 years old, a minor. We were shocked and heartbroken when we eventually saw my sister again, now dressed in a Muslim hijab and going by a new name, Aisha, and now said to be a wife,” she told other reporters. “What began as an ordinary day quickly turned into something deeply unsettling.”
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