Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: April 18, 2026
Today we should have been sharing good news.
Wednesday was the day that the seven remaining Du Merci children should have been returned to the care of the Tarfa family in Nigeria – bringing an end to more than six years of separation and trauma.
Yet once again, that long-awaited reunion has been cruelly denied.
For those who may not know the full story, Professor Solomon and Mrs Mercy Tarfa are Christians and co-founders of the Du Merci Centres for vulnerable children in Kano and Kaduna. They have been tirelessly seeking the return of 27 children who were unjustly taken from their care in December 2019.
In 2025, a High Court instructed the Kano State government to release the remaining minors by 19 March 2025. Yet they continued to defy this order. Hearings were delayed again and again, while the children remained in a deeply vulnerable situation.
In August 2025, eight more children were reunited with the Tarfas – but only after one of the girls suffered serious mental health issues. This left the eight youngest in the government-run orphanage where they had faced mistreatment, neglect and pressure to convert since 2019.
Tragedy followed in January 2026. Thirteen-year-old David Tarfa died after orphanage staff failed to provide the medical care he urgently needed. Months later, his body has still not been released to his family.
After further delays, a handover meeting was finally set for Wednesday 15 April, 10am. This should have been the moment the seven surviving children came home.
But that is not what happened.
On the day of the meeting, Mrs Mercy Tarfa arrived at the Ministry of Justice in Kano State along with her eldest son, an elder daughter and the family lawyer. Professor Tarfa was unable to attend due to illness.
A document was signed, stating that the children had been returned to the Tarfas. But before the proceedings had ended, the Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Development left the meeting – taking all the children with her.
We are incensed by this latest injustice. The authorities appear to have used every means to prevent the children’s return – even promoting false narratives to scare them from wanting to return to their adoptive parents.
During their six years at the government facility, all of the children experienced consistent pressure to convert. The youngest eight were most vulnerable to this pressure, and those who had succumbed to it were extremely emotional during Wednesday’s meeting. They had been told that if they returned to the Du Merci Centre they would be killed – either for having converted to Islam, or in the event they reverted to Christianity.
We know that many of you have been praying for this family since the beginning. Thank you for standing with them through every delay and disappointment.
We ask you to pray once again at this critical moment – trusting that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
Please pray:
- For the immediate and unconditional return of the seven children to the Tarfas’ care.
- For David’s body to be released so that he can be buried in accordance with his family’s wishes.
- For a complete end to this unacceptable harassment and effective legal persecution.
- For appropriate compensation to be paid to the Tarfas and their children for the profound trauma inflicted.
- That the Lord would powerfully intervene, bringing justice, comfort, provision, healing and strength to this precious family.