Law Firm Appeals to DSS Over 17-Year-Old Held by Bauchi Orphann & Vulnerable Children Agency

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi 

Investigation has revealed that a petition was sent to DSS office in Bauchi by a Jos- based law firm,  Wholesome Attorneys, on behalf of Kumabe Zakari, mother of a teenager, requesting the DSS to intervene  in enforcing a Court Order directing Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Agency (BASOVCA) to release Faith Barnabas, a teenager, who is wrapped in religious controversy, to her parent.  

 Investigation by our Correspondent however, confirmed that the petition was submitted to the DSS office WITHOUT A COPY of the said Court Order, hence the DSS is yet to sight the legal document. 

According to the law firm, the teenager was allegedly forcibly converted to Islam by one Sadiq Ahmed Hussaini with the active involvement of the Bauchi State Shari’ah Commission without the consent of her parent.  

The lawyers further alleged that Faith is being unlawfully held at the BASOVCA despite subsisting court orders directing that she be reunited with her family. 

Meanwhile, further checks from BASOVCA confirmed that the girl was brought to them for safe keeping, by the Social Welfare Services Office in conjunction with the Bauchi State Sharia Commission over waywardness. As such, Faith was never taken by the DSS, rather, her family is only seeking the assistance of DSS on the matter.

However,   Public Affairs Commentators have described a news medium (Not  This Medium) with a headline “Lawyers Ask DSS To Free 17- Year Old Christian Girl ‘Forcibly Converted’ To Islam In Bauchi” ,as “very unprofessional”.

They described the headline by the medium as “Not responsible journalism”. 

According to them “a headline should accurately fit or reflect the substance of the story being addressed and should not be cut off from the body of the news”.  END