BREAKING: Bauchi Police Release 16-year-old Jennifer To Parents After Alleged Forced Conversion To Islam

 

Jennifer’s release comes after a series of controversial developments that had left her parents stranded in Bauchi while seeking to regain custody of their daughter.

The Bauchi State Police Command has released 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph, a Christian teenager from Adamawa State, to her parents following weeks of controversy over her custody and disputed religious identity.

Jennifer was released to her parents on Monday after extensive deliberations at the Bauchi State Police Command, SaharaReporters has learnt.

The development followed sustained public attention and extensive reporting by SaharaReporters on the circumstances surrounding the teenager, who became the centre of a dispute involving her parents, the Bishara Dole Christian Ministry and an Islamic Da’awah group in Bauchi.

Reverend Mohammed Mohammed of The Gospel of Christ Must Be Preach International Ministry, popularly known as Bishara Dole, confirmed Jennifer’s release to SaharaReporters on Tuesday.

Mohammed, however, disclosed that the police had detained Rev. Badamasi, a staff member of the Bishara Dole ministry, over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while transporting her from her family home in Adamawa State to the ministry in Bauchi.

He described the allegation as unfounded and “laughable,” while insisting that the matter should be investigated properly.

Jennifer’s release comes after a series of controversial developments that had left her parents stranded in Bauchi while seeking to regain custody of their daughter.

How The Dispute Started

The controversy became public after Jennifer’s mother, Saratu Daniel, from Ganye Local Government Area of Adamawa State, appealed to authorities to help recover her daughter, alleging that the teenager had been taken away and subsequently placed under the influence of an Islamic Da’awah group.

Saratu alleged that Jennifer had been introduced to Islam during a family visit and that, after learning of the development, she took her daughter to the Bishara Dole Christian rehabilitation centre in Bauchi for assistance.

She later alleged that a man identified as Abubakar, whom she said had presented himself at the centre as a Christian convert, removed Jennifer from the facility and took her to the Da’awah group without the family’s consent.

The family subsequently approached the Bauchi State Police Command, triggering an investigation and a series of meetings involving the parties.

SaharaReporters reported last week that Jennifer’s parents had travelled from Adamawa to Bauchi after they were invited by the police and were expecting to take their daughter home.

According to an account provided by the family, the Commissioner of Police initially directed that Jennifer be released to her parents, but the process was stalled after representatives of the Da’awah group objected to the handover.

The police subsequently placed Jennifer temporarily under the Bauchi State Agency for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (BASOVCA), pending further deliberations.

Controversial Police Meeting

The matter took another turn on Sunday, August 23, when representatives of Jennifer’s parents, Bishara Dole and the Da’awah group met at the Bauchi State Police Command.

Bishara Dole alleged that Jennifer was taken to an undisclosed location for about an hour before she was brought into the meeting and subsequently asked to choose between her parents and the Da’awah group.

The ministry said Jennifer chose the Da’awah group, raising questions about whether a 16-year-old minor should have been placed in such a position during a disputed custody case.

The police, however, denied the allegation that Jennifer was asked to choose between her parents and the Da’awah group.

Police spokesperson SP Nafiu Habib told SaharaReporters that his role at the meeting was not to investigate the case but to obtain information from the parties involved and understand how the command should relate with the media.

Habib said he had instead asked Jennifer, if she were to be released, whether she would prefer to live with her mother or grandmother. He also denied preventing participants from expressing their views, saying the meeting was not an investigative session.

Child-Molestation Allegation

The latest development has now introduced another layer to the controversy following the detention of Rev. Badamasi.

According to Reverend Mohammed, the Bishara Dole staff member was detained over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while accompanying her from Adamawa to Bauchi in a commercial bus.

Mohammed rejected the allegation, describing it as “laughable” and insisting that the ministry would not be deterred by what he considered attempts to discredit its members.

SaharaReporters could not independently establish the circumstances surrounding Badamasi’s detention or the allegation against him.

The development is also significant because earlier reports had documented claims by Bishara Dole that allegations of child molestation had been made against the ministry as part of what Mohammed described as an attempt to discredit the Christian organisation.

The ministry had called for an independent investigation into all allegations rather than allowing competing religious interests to determine Jennifer’s custody.

With Jennifer now released to her parents, attention is expected to shift to the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s custody, the competing claims over her religious identity and the allegations that emerged during the dispute.

The case has generated concern because of the involvement of a minor in a dispute between her family and religious groups, with the various parties making competing claims about her welfare, custody and religious affiliation.

SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS