Youngest Du Merci children forcibly relocated to an unknown area

The youngest of 15 children seized during police raids on Du Merci orphanages in Kano and Kaduna states in December 2019 were forcibly removed from the government-run Nasarawa Children’s Home in the Kano state capital on 18 January and taken to an unknown rural location.

CSW was initially informed that the Du Merci children aged between four and ten were to be taken to an unspecified rural area on 18 January, while the others aged between ten and 15 would be sent to a separate rural facility at an unknown date.

However, on 18 January Emmanuel, Mercy and Destiny Tarfa, all aged four, were forcibly separated from the 12 older Du Merci children, who attempted to assist them but were forcefully returned to their rooms by police officers. The three younger children, who were reportedly in great distress, were taken away along with some of the older residents of the Nasarawa orphanage, who carried bags containing their personal items and clothing, while the Du Merci children only had the clothes they were wearing.

Twenty-seven children were transferred to the government-run facility following raids on the Du Merci orphanages in Kano and Kaduna states by armed officers from the police force and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), that occurred on 25 and 31 December 2019, respectively.

Once in the Nasarawa Children’s Home, they were not permitted to leave the premises to attend school or church and have complained of being mistreated on account of their religious belief. They have also experienced violence, and one child remains hospitalised following a fire in the government orphanage in which he suffered first degree burns to the face, hands, body, and legs. The forced relocations have increased concerns for the physical and psychological wellbeing of the Du Merci children.

News of impending forced relocations was preceded by the forcible expulsion from the government-run orphanage of an older Du Merci resident, who had remained voluntarily to care for these minors. Additionally, both the Tarfa’s legal representative and Mrs Mercy Tarfa, who regularly brought additional food for the children to the home, were denied access in the run up to these developments.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW condemns the forcible relocation of Emmanuel, Mercy and Destiny Tarfa. Each of these children, along with the others from the Du Merci centres, have already suffered discrimination and multiple human rights violations whilst separated from the adults they consider their parents for over a year. The additional separation of extremely young and vulnerable children from older siblings must be reversed immediately. It will compound the trauma they are already experiencing and raises additional concerns for their physical and emotional wellbeing. CSW continues to urge the Kano state authorities to restore all the children from the Du Merci centres to their parents as a matter of urgency.”