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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Youth group accuses Bauchi authorities of defying court order on 17-year-old girl

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • A youth group accused Bauchi State authorities of defying a Federal High Court order to release a 17-year-old girl to her mother.
  • The girl, Faith Barnabas, has been in custody since April 2026, and her mother sued for her release after she disappeared following university entrance exams.
  • The group cited contempt of court and violations of Nigerian law and human rights instruments, urging intervention from national and international bodies.

The Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Billiri Local Government Area has accused Bauchi State authorities and the Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children Agency of blatant contempt of court. The group claims the government is defying a Federal High Court order mandating the release of 17-year-old Faith Barnabas to her mother.

a clear case of contempt of court and a violation of the rule of law.

— Comrade Sarki NapthaliDescribing the alleged continued custody of the teenager.

Faith Barnabas, an indigene of Gombe State, disappeared in April 2026 after completing her university entrance examinations while residing with a guardian in Bauchi State. Her mother, Mrs. Kumabe Zakari, initiated a fundamental rights enforcement suit, leading the Federal High Court in Jos to order the teenager's immediate release on July 6, 2026.

Comrade Sarki Napthali, Chairman of YOWICAN Billiri, stated that as of August 2, 2026, the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA had failed to comply with the court's directive. The group further alleged that the teenager was groomed by an adult male, declared converted to Islam while in state custody, and that a previous Bauchi District Court order for her release to her mother was also ignored.

As of today, August 2, 2026, the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA have failed, refused and neglected to comply with the binding order of a competent court of law. This continued detention amounts to contempt of court and a direct violation of the rule of law.

— Comrade Sarki NapthaliStating the government's non-compliance with the court order.

YOWICAN argued that these actions violate the Nigerian Constitution, the Child Rights Act, the Bauchi State Child Protection Law, and international human rights instruments. Napthali urged the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA to obey the judgment, calling on the Attorney General, Inspector-General of Police, National Human Rights Commission, and international organizations to intervene and ensure the teenager's protection.

We call on the Bauchi State Government and BASOVCA to immediately and unconditionally obey the Federal High Court judgment of July 6, 2026, and release Miss Faith Barnabas to her lawful mother.

— Comrade Sarki NapthaliDemanding compliance with the court's ruling.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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