•Exonerated missionary faces triple jeopardy in latest court proceeding

By EMMANUEL OGEBE

Days after the emergence of another Chibok schoolgirl escapee, Kano state deployed deceit in court to maintain its illegal detention of 16 Christian orphans it abducted on Christmas Day 2019.

At an emergency hearing yesterday at the Kano high court seeking the release of the children after almost four years to their adoptive parents, “The Women Affairs Prosecutors said, they have evidence of Du Merci Orphanage running a baby factory,” sources reported.

This false representation to the court amounts to triple jeopardy for the Christian missionary Prof Solomon Tarfa who has suffered persecution over 31 years since he founded the Du Merci orphanage in Kano.

Ironically, just this week, the Nigerian army announced the recovery of Mary Nkeki, now 27 years old, who escaped from Boko Haram captivity in the world’s longest-running school mass abduction.

According to international human rights lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, “I am delighted at the news of Mary Nkeki’s phenomenal escape. Unlike the previous alleged Chibok escapee Rebecca Kabu, whose number was not provided for authentication, I am gratified that this time the army did the needful and identified Mary’s serial number as 55.

Already, community members confirmed to me she was one of the missing and her age is consistent unlike Rebecca who at 13 could not possibly have been writing WAEC then.”

In a June 2021 statement, USNLG said, “we call for the release of Maida Yakubu Tikko who was the youngest Chibok schoolgirl taken captive and turns 23 years old on her birthday this month.” Maida (aka Dorcas) has consistently been the recorded youngest Chibok schoolgirl who is 25 years old now.

Says Ogebe: “I am thankful that Mary Nkeki immediately went home to Borno instead of doing an Abuja roadshow as familiar and familial surroundings are optimal for her recuperation and reorientation.

However I urge that proper trauma healing be rendered to her in view of her reported demand for reunion with her Boko Haram terrorist “husband.”

This is a classic symptom of Stockholm syndrome and emphasizes the urgency of her reunion with her family.

It is ironic that literally weeks after Joy Bishara one of the Chibok girls I relocated to the US to school freely got engaged to her American boyfriend, Mary Nkeki her classmate seeks to be reunited with her forced captivity husband.

Having lost all the offspring of that terror “marriage”, Mary should be freed to make better choices once she’s psychologically whole.”

With regard to the DuMerci 16, still held hostage, Kano state’s lawyers claim they had evidence of “baby factory” against the missionaries is no less criminal than Boko Haram’s Chibok mass abduction.

Incidentally in the same press statement cited above, USNLG said, “We’re delighted at the acquittal of Prof Tarfa on the bogus charges of child kidnapping for merely running a Christian orphanage in a Muslim majority state.

Coming a week after Terrorists released Pastor Zongo, it is sad that Zongo spent even less time in captivity - eight months - while Tarfa spent 12 months imprisoned by the government.

It is even more tragic that a kindhearted individual like Tarfa who despite his academic laurels took it upon himself to serve the fatherless in two northern states of Kano and Kaduna is persecuted while Bandits who abduct children from school for ransom and rewarded handsomely with billions.

Truly Nigeria does bad to good people and does good to bad people!

Worst of all, not only did the government take them from a loving environment to a bad one, one of the orphans suffered severe burns all over his body!

This is cruel and inexcusable negligence, recklessness and child endangerment.”

Over two years later, in a brazen act of professional misconduct, Kano state’s counsel not only misled the court but by so doing exposed Prof Tarfa to triple jeopardy on false allegations that he has been acquitted off consistently for 20 years!

Incidentally earlier this year upon his acquittal by the court of appeal, USNLG said, “We call on Kano State to release “the Du Merci 16” orphans held hostage by the Hajia Zarau-led ministry of women affairs since December 25th 2019.

Following the discharge and acquittal of humanitarian Prof Solomon Tarfa on bogus forgery charges, Kano government is duty bound to release these orphans back to Du Merci.

They have stayed in the govt orphanage for over two years without going to school. They lost two academic years out of three years wasted in government custody where some have lost the ability to speak fluently in English.

Kano must end its unlawful abduction…of these kids and while we commend the US and UK embassies for taking special note of this appalling case, we urge them to recognize this as an egregious example of state-sponsored religious persecution.

Finally, we demand that the federal government give account of the Chibok girls in America under their management who have failed to produce any university graduate in seven years while their non-government-controlled counterparts have attained Masters degrees.”

Similarly, Kano state’s recent misconduct confirms the contention that Prof Solomon Tarfa's case is “clearly state persecution in addition to non-state actors like Boko Haram” as he was released by the Court of Appeal which said,

“I believe that was the evidence that formed the basis on which the charges of abduction and kidnapping against Appellant were dismissed,

as the evidence of the Prosecution, rather presented Appellant as a man on the roll of honour and fame, instead of infamy, in my opinion.”

His Lordship Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal G. Mbaba concluded that, “I set aside the conviction of the Appellant, and hold that this case was very unfortunate, going by the evidence of PW1, I cannot understand why it was taken out, in the first place, against the Appellant. Appellant is hereby discharged and acquitted of the said charge.”

The submission of Kano state’s counsel in court yesterday is contemptuous of the court of appeal’s 2023 judgment and his acquittal in 2021 on the same allegations he was charged with and acquitted of 21 years ago shows violation of the constitution on double jeopardy.

Worst of all, Du Merci orphanage in Kaduna has already been demolished and the one in Kano forced out of the state but the persecution of Tarfa continues.

Accordingly, USNLG again, “call(s) for the immediate release of the Du Mercy 16. If their prior detention was unlawful, it is even more so now that Prof Tarfa has long since been acquitted of abduction by a superior court of law.

"We demand that the government of Kano provide proper medical attention to Moses for his full and complete recovery, at a hospital selected by Prof Tarfa.

"We demand that the government of Kano fly Moses’ mother in from abroad where she currently is to assess and care for her son.

"We demand the immediate…payment of compensation for his destroyed orphanage and malicious prosecution by Kano State.

"We demand that the government of Kano pay the compensation in 2002 which has still not been paid 20 years later which is tantamount to executive lawlessness.”

•Emmanuel Ogebe is of US NIGERIA LAW GROUP, Washington, DC, USA.

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