The family of a 15-year-old Christian girl, Ummi Tambaya, from Kano State has raised the alarm over her disappearance.
The family alleged that she was abducted by youths in her community and forcefully converted to Islam with the alleged complicity of local religious authorities.
Ummi, a native of Kadafa Bari District in Rogo Local Government Area of Kano State, has been missing since December 1, 2025.
Her family alleged that a young Muslim man from the village, who had persistently sought her hand in marriage despite repeated refusals, orchestrated her abduction.
According to the family, the man initially denied knowing her whereabouts after she went missing.
Speaking on the case, Pastor Kabiru Usman, who is familiar with the situation, said that efforts to locate the girl revealed she was being kept under the custody of the Hisbah Commander in Rogo.
“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,” Usman said.
He further alleged that individuals close to the Hisbah Commander disclosed the identities of those involved in the abduction.
“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 added.
Usman said that despite interventions by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Rogo, Suleiman Ibrahim, and the village district head, Umar Abdulkadir, the Hisbah commander allegedly refused to produce the girl.
He also accused the Department of State Services (DSS) in the area of failing to act on the matter, alleging extortion by one of its officers.
“It will surprise the public to know that the DSS in the state has refused to act on this matter. In fact, one of their officers in the local government collected up to N20,000, claiming that officers from the headquarters needed it to buy fuel,” Usman said.
He appealed for urgent intervention, saying the family was traumatised and feared that those responsible could escape accountability.
“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,” he said.
“They lied to us that Ummi was with human rights people, it was a lie. The Hisbah commander is fully aware of her whereabouts. Let those concerned come to our aid,” he added.
In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, a member of the family, Shamsu Tambaya, also narrated how the incident unfolded.
“There was a certain boy here, whom we loved. We were living together peacefully despite the fact that we belonged to two different religions,” he said.
According to him, the boy secretly influenced the girl before taking her away.
“He had been talking to her secretly… She stopped listening to anyone, she no longer listened to anybody except him,” Shamsu said.
He explained that the girl was later moved between locations before being taken to a Hisbah commander.
“They took her to a certain commander of Hisbah, called Sani. So this Sani later came and told us that the girl was in a place better than our own house,” he said.
Shamsu rejected claims that the girl reported her family to a human rights organisation.
“And God is my witness, only God knows that this girl has never even known what human rights are in this world,” he said.
He said the family reported the matter to the police in Rogo and later to the Kano State Police Headquarters, after which a demand for money was allegedly made.
“He told us that I must give him transport fare. He said I should give him N20,000,” Shamsu said, adding that nothing came out of it.
Expressing concern for the girl’s condition, he said, “This child? She is 15 years old, she has not reached the age where one can change her religion, and she also has a mental health problem.”
Shamsu appealed to the government to intervene and return Ummi to them.
“If the government will look into this matter for us, let them look into it and bring our daughter out for us,” he said. “She has not reached the age where her religion should be changed, and she has a mental health condition that affects her understanding.”
When contacted, the Hisbah Commander of Rogo, Malam Sani, requested the name of the complainant. Upon being informed that the victim’s family had raised the issue, he declined to provide further details over the phone.
Despite being told the correspondent was in Abuja, Sani insisted that the newspaper must visit his office in Kano State to obtain more information on the matter.