- Yobe State Ministry of Religious Affairs and CAN deny claims of abducting and forcibly converting 30 Christian teenage girls
- Officials assert the allegations are baseless, malicious, and intended to create discord among the state’s religious communities
The Yobe State Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ethical Reorientation, along with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has denied claims that 30 Christian teenage girls were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.
These allegations, initially reported by an online news outlet called “Daybreak,” suggested that the state ministry was involved in the abduction and forced conversion of the girls in 2019.
Addressing journalists on Monday in Damaturu, the state capital, Alhaji Yusuf Hassan Yusuf, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, dismissed the report as baseless and malicious, asserting that it was intended to create discord among the state’s religious communities. He categorically denied any involvement in such actions, emphasizing that it is against Islamic teachings to force anyone to convert or marry against their will.
Similarly, Reverend Ibrahim Kure Abagu, the CAN Secretary in Yobe State, refuted the allegations, stating that the association had never encountered such incidents. He expressed surprise at the report, questioning how such an event could occur without the knowledge of relevant stakeholders or security agencies.