Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN), Billiri Local Government Area Chapter, has accused the Bauchi State Government and the Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children Agency (BASOVCA) of refusing to comply with a Federal High Court order directing the release of a 17-year-old girl, Faith Barnabas, to her mother. In a statement issued on Sunday, August 2, 2026, the group described the alleged continued custody of the teenager as "a clear case of contempt of court and a violation of the rule of law." The Chairman of YOWICAN Billiri, Comrade Sarki Napthali, said the Bauchi authorities had failed, refused, and neglected to comply with the binding order of a competent court of law.
According to the group, Faith Barnabas, an indigene of Billiri Local Government Area in Gombe State, disappeared in April 2026 after completing her university entrance examinations while living with a guardian in Bauchi State. Her mother, Mrs. Kumabe Zakari, subsequently instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, challenging the circumstances surrounding her daughter's disappearance and continued custody. The court, in its judgment delivered on July 6, 2026, ordered the immediate release of the teenager to her mother. However, Napthali alleged that despite the judgment, the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA have yet to comply with the court's directive, with the teenager still in state custody as of August 2.
YOWICAN further alleged that the teenager was separated from her family after being groomed by an adult male and was later declared to have converted to Islam while in state custody. The group also claimed that an earlier order by a Bauchi District Court directing that the teenager be released to her mother was similarly ignored. Napthali argued that the alleged actions contravened the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Child Rights Act, the Bauchi State Child Protection Law, and relevant international human rights instruments safeguarding children's rights and freedom of religion.
The group called on the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA to immediately and unconditionally obey the Federal High Court judgment of July 6, 2026, and release Faith Barnabas to her lawful mother. It also urged the Attorney General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, and other security agencies to enforce the judgment and ensure the protection of the teenager and her family. In addition, the organisation appealed to the National Human Rights Commission, the federal government, diplomatic missions, and international organisations to intervene, warning that failure to enforce the court order could undermine public confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law.
The case fits a documented pattern in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north, where advocacy groups and UN experts have recorded the abduction, forced conversion, and forced marriage of underage Christian girls, despite a constitution that guarantees every person the freedom to choose and change religion. Faith's mother has also filed a fundamental rights suit seeking the immediate release of her daughter from the state-run child welfare facility, along with N150 million in damages for what she says are violations of her daughter's constitutional rights. The suit, filed on June 29, 2026, at the Federal High Court in Jos, asks whether a northern state can recognise a child's conversion and place her beyond her surviving parent's reach.
Efforts to obtain reactions from the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA were unsuccessful, as telephone calls and text messages sent to the relevant authorities were not responded to. The case has drawn attention to the ongoing tensions over religious conversion, custody, and the rights of minors in Nigeria's dual legal system, where Sharia law operates alongside secular courts in twelve northern states, including Bauchi. As the legal battle continues, the teenager remains in state custody, and her mother continues to fight for her release, hoping that the courts will ultimately uphold her daughter's fundamental rights and return her to her family.
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