A Muslim police force in Kano state, Nigeria is holding a 15-year-old Christian girl missing since Dec. 1 amid fears that she may be forcefully converted to Islam, sources said.
Pastor Kabiru Usman said he discovered that the Kano State Hisbah Board, a Muslim police force charged with enforcing sharia (Islamic law) among Muslims, was holding Ummi Tambaya at its post in Rogo, according to media outlet Sahara Reporters.
“After a long search and relentless efforts, we discovered the girl has been kept under the custody of the Hisbah commander of Rogo, Malam Sani, that she wants to convert to Islam,” Pastor Usman told Sahara Reporters.
Efforts by the divisional police officer in charge of Rogo, Suleiman Ibrahim, and the village district head, Umar Abdulkadir, failed as the Hisbah commander refused to release the girl, Pastor Usman reportedly said.
Ummi is a native of Kadafa Bari District in Rogo Local Government Area.
Pastor Usman accused the area Department of State Services (DSS) of failing to act.
“In fact, one of their officers in the local government collected up to 20,000 naira [$14], claiming that officers from the headquarters needed it to buy fuel,” Pastor Usman told Sahara Reporters. “We are appealing to relevant authorities to come to our aid. The family of Ummi are traumatized, we don’t know her present condition and we are afraid the culprits will escape this because we have had five other similar cases of forceful conversions of our girls in the area.”
Pastor Usman reportedly said the Hisbah commander deceitfully told him that “human rights people” had take custody of Ummi.
“The Hisbah commander is fully aware of her whereabouts,” he reportedly said. “Let those concerned come to our aid.”
Persons close to the Hisbah commander disclosed the identities of those involved in the abduction of Ummi, he told Sahara Reporters.
“Close persons to the Hisbah Commander revealed that Abba Sheshu, Mansir Surajo and one Tasiu Bello were the persons who abducted her for a whole month despite her mental illness and prevented her from seeking medical help,” he reportedly said.
Ummi’s family asserted that a young Muslim man who had repeatedly asked her to marry him despite refusals arranged for her abduction. Shamsu Tambaya, a relative of Ummi, told Sahara Reporters that the Muslim man “influenced” her in such a way that she no longer listened to anybody except him.
Tambaya said the kidnappers moved her to various locations before taking her to the Hisbah commander, Sani.
“So this Sani later came and told us that the girl was in a place better than our own house,” he told Sahara Reporters.
Tambaya refuted claims that Ummi reported her family to a human rights organization.
“And God is my witness, only God knows that this girl has never even known what human rights are in this world,” he reportedly said.
The family reported the matter to the police in Rogo and later to the Kano State Police Headquarters, after which the demand for “transport fare” was allegedly made, and officers took no further action. Tambaya reportedly said Ummi has not reached the legal age for changing her religion, “and she also has a mental health problem.”
He appealed for government help.
“If the government will look into this matter for us, let them look into it and bring our daughter out for us,” he reportedly said.
When Sahara Reporters contacted Sani, he requested the name of the complainant; after being informed that it was Ummi’s family, he declined to provide further details, the outlet reported. Sani insisted that the Abuja-based reporter must visit his office in Kano state to obtain more information.
Ibrahim Dikko, a former Muslim and now a Christian evangelist, appealed for help in a Facebook post.
“Why did the Muslims and the Hisbah break the law by snatching a 15-year-old girl and forcefully convert her to Islam?” he wrote. “They must release that girl back to her parents and the church.”
Nigeria ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
