Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: June 26, 2021
‘Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.’ Psalm 31:24 MSG
On Thursday morning a court in Kano State, Nigeria, acquitted Professor Solomon Tarfa of abducting 19 children from their legal guardians, and confining them in an unregistered orphanage. Hallelujah! This is truly amazing news, and we praise God.
The professor has faced a series of false charges, including child abduction and forgery of a certificate, and appears to have been targeted simply for running a Christian orphanage.
You may remember that, on Christmas Day 2019, over 60 plain clothes policemen raided the Du Merci Centre in Kano City and arrested the professor. Over the coming days, 27 children were removed from the Du Merci centres in Kano and Kaduna and placed in a government-run home, where they have been harassed, prevented from attending church, and reportedly assaulted.
More than 3,000 of you have campaigned on behalf of Professor Tarfa and his family and so many have been praying over the last 18 months. Thank you!
However, the Tarfa family’s ordeal is not over. Sixteen children are still waiting to be returned home, and Professor Tarfa will appear in court again on 27 July to defend a forgery charge.
Sign and share our petition to end sexual violence in Tigray (See link below).
‘They are raping our women – including nuns in convents.’ Assefa, Hawzen town
Ethiopia’s Tigray region is the scene of a brutal war in which many atrocities are being committed, including the use of rape as a weapon of war, possibly with genocidal intent. Well over 10,000 women and girls, ranging from an eight-year-old to grandmothers aged 72, have been raped by soldiers who speak of ‘cleansing the bloodline’ of their victims and transmitting HIV.
Add your voice to, and share, our petition to end this shocking campaign of sexual violence
In summary, please pray:
- Thanking God for the wonderful news of Professor Tarfa’s acquittal.
- That the Du Merci children will be returned quickly, and that the final charge against Professor Tarfa will also be dropped.
- That our petition about sexual violence in Tigray will be signed by thousands of people, and that it will lead to decisive action being taken to end the crisis.