A pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Raymond Uzoechina has called on security agencies to investigate activities at the palace of the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, to ensure that many people there had not been forced to convert to Islam and held against their will.
This came as the pastor claimed his daughter, Miss Charity Uzoechina had been forced to convert to Islam.
“Apart from my daughter, there are so many people at the palace. There is need for the police to investigate and ensure that the people are not suffering the fate of my daughter,” Pastor Uzoechina told Vanguard on phone, yesterday.
Charity had left their Abuja home to further her studies at the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State recently. Reports however said she has not returned home since March, and has allegedly been at the palace of the Etsu Nupe on her own volition, after converting to Islam and changing her name to Aisha.
Pastor Uzoechina wouldn’t hear any of the claims that her daughter willingly converted to Islam. He believes his daughter was kidnapped and hypnotised and could never abandon the Christian faith for Islam.
The Etsu Nupe argued otherwise and produced legal documents where his daughter said she had converted to Islam and alleged that his father could kill her for the action hence the need to seek protection from the Palace and the Sharia Court, which the court granted.
The Etsu Nupe who had promised the lady protection, therefore refused to release her to Uzoechina, citing the sharia court ruling.
The pastor who is appalled by the situation wondered how an Islamic court would judge a Christian.
“They (sharia court) have fixed Thursday, August 1 for ruling on our appeal that they don’t have jurisdiction. You can’t judge a Christian in a Muslim court. I am appealing to them to vacate the judgment because they don’t have jurisdiction.”
Uzoechina described as ridiculous the claim that her daughter was being kept at the Etsu Nupe palace so as to protect her from him. Even if she converted to Islam on her own volition, Uzoechina wondered if that was enough reason for any father to kill his daughter as alleged by the Etsu Nupe.
“That is not true. My daughter cannot make that allegation,” he said. “Why should I kill her? We asked them to bring her to the court so that my lawyer can cross-examine her but they refused.
“If she has converted to Islam, must she practice at the Etsu Nupe’s palace? Is Etsu Nupe the chief security officer now? They should not separate me from my daughter. She has stayed in the palace for six months. If they say I will harm her, let them release her to the Inspector General of Police, leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN or ask me to write an undertaking. Why is my daughter still under Etsu Nupe’s enclave? I am only talking about my daughter; there are so many people at the palace. There is need for the police to investigate and ensure that other people are not suffering the fate of my daughter. They did not allow my wife to see my daughter when she visited the palace.”
The matter is now causing a big row among the Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor-led CAN, the Bida Emirate and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA.
Nigerians! We shouldnt keep quite over this o! What’s happennin? Salient questions needed to asked. Who were the women who brought the girl? Does conversion to Islam now demand that one must withdraw from a school(fedpoly bida in this case)? Like the father asked: is the emir now the chief security officer of the federation? Was there a prior violent relationship between father and daughter? Was the girl kept incommunicado for those period, so the parents couldnt reach her, or was her means of comm.(phone) confisticated? Religion is supposed to be a personal decision; why is the sharia court, the emir et al overzealous under this condition?
As a father, i cant imagine me being separated from my gal for upward of half a year under some zealots guise of religious conversion? We must all rise and speak out in support of pastor uchechinna. Today its charity. Who knows if jennifer wont be next!
This is SERIOUS, so Etsu Nupe loves the girl more than the parents. WONDERS SHALL NEVER END! Anybody who supports this, may the same thing happen to you. Amen!
what is wrong with this people so do they marry in their islamic way without seeing the parent or does islam tells them to jst marry with out bride price being payed ok if that is what the do let them prove it and let the girl publicly denie his father or let us know that she is inlove an so she is now a muslim nonscenese
ALLAH ALMIGHTY, HAS PROMISED TO FILL THE LIGHT OF HIS RELIGION UPON THE GLOBE.THEN I DON’T THINK IF IT IS WISE FOR SOMEONE COMING OUT USING ABUSIVE LANGUAGE ON INOSCENT!! ISLAM IS ALL ABOUT REASONING,AND IT ANSWERS ALL QUESTIONS,SOLVED ALL PROBLEMS,CAN BE PRACTICALISED ON ALL ASPECT OF LIFE. SO IT IS ONLY FOR THOSE WHO CAN REASON !! I PRAY FOR YOU ALL THAT GOD ALMIGHTY SHINE THE LIGHT TO YOUR HEART ALSO.THANK YOU ALL.
Na today? This kind of thing has being going on in d north for decades. Many christian girls have being snatched of the streets on their way to school, market or even church and literally forced into marriage and islam.The cases are usually taken to sharia court and judgements usually delivered against the girls’ parents/guardian who r accused of trying to convert them to christianity. The govt and security agencies r usually pro islam so nothing gets done and the injustice continues. Will this case be different?
this is one of the areas CAN need to be firm!
ALL OF YOU ARE JUST MAKING TOO MUCH NOISE, IS THE GIRL NOT OLD ENOUGH? ABEG LEAVE THE GIRL AND THE ESTU NUPE ALONE, ALL YOU SENTIMENTAL SCAVENGERS. SHE IS FREE TO CHOOSE WHICH EVER RELIGION SHE WISHES AND STOP PUSHING WORDS INTO HER MOUTH.
I t is very obvious you are out of your senses or it is either you dont have one before now.I can guess you are a small bull dog no matter the age that is why you dont have human feelings anymore.I pity you if it were your sister or probably your little cousin that was taken away from you how wud you feel? Nonsense!
Did you even read the post? You just want to talk i guess.
This is abduction, it is a criminal offence to detain someone against her will. If they claim the girl converted to Islam they should release her to her parents, she must not practice her new faith under the guiadanship of Etsu Nupe.
Etsu nupe u be kidnapper,na by force to be a muslim?na wa o.
Were is Soyinka and his cohorts? If it is to defend his cult boy Ameachi, he will have voice to abuse Mrs Jonathan, let him speak we are waiting. He was there when Ladoja, Fayose etc were removed from office, but becasue they were not his cult boys, he said nothing, now that is Ameachi, he won’t mind dancing naked in the street of PH. I know if it is any of his boys involve in this he will shout, but because it invlove a Christain, he won’t say anything.
This is the country you want us to call our home? A country with so much injustice. Where is the IG? if it happens to be an ordinary and innocent Nigerian you will see him taken useless action. This is a kidnapping case but because it involved an emir nothing will be done. So many hiding atrocity being done in the north but no body says anything about them but if it happens to be in Igbo land it will be news every were. God forsaken country.
Hello my fellow nigeria!.i pray for all the leader of nigeria,ply if u r a muslim or christian,pls remember when thunder of rain comes evrybody tremblng. The issue of religion must be address by house of asemblie,pls Mr President if u r thnkng to be there at second term.try ur to lead people as u v being asign,there’s notng hid that cnt be reveal,u knw who s behind ths all ths islamic extremism in nigeria,from previous government r responsible for ths,bcs of selfishnes, NIGERIA not islamic state, Hello Mr President, u knw all this game comes frm forign country, British, USA, EU n thir Arabia slaves. We Nigeria ll understand thir game,pls dnt b slave.they just want to control evry life for thir life.those people who betraild sold us to them since independent.where r they?,they never full?. Pls Mr President of Nigeria. You can Do if u Will.
Dis matter is indeed taking a different dimension. I watched d clip over 2 months ago in one of d TV channels. D Presidency ought to order d IGP to move into d Emirs palace and free d gal imm. There’s nothing wrong with a Presidential aide,Minister of Women affairs,Minister of Education, SSS,NGOs,NAPTIP etc being ordered to admit d girl for interrogation, in d presence of her parents. D pastor should go further to submit a legal notice to d Senate,House of Reps, IGP,Dir SSS, 4 Service chiefs,DG NSCDC,his home state Governor,his State House of Assy, Ohanaeze,CAN–all of them, and somebody will wade into d matter. He can also call reach me through dis medium for assistance
There fact is that the emir lust after the girl and ordered her to be brought into his palace, claiming her to have been converted to islam. It’s posible to force people to accept what they don’t want
Rubish relegion voilence people is it a must to convert to islam just emrgine hw islam ar lookin for convert hare and dare ?usel people ?stupid peoble u beter find a true relegion and foske dis ur tench religion
My problem is not whether ds girl has been forced or she has voluntarily embraced Islam, yes it is possible and it happens, in fact pple leav christianity nd islam to join occultic and other demonic sects. d issue is, is ds nupe etsu, d sharia rulling judges and every muslim who is elated and feel encouraged at ds one rare incident aware of hundreds of muslims, both youths and old, who are getting converted to christianity on daily basis even as i speak? and even tho christians nd christian communities nd associations where they found demselves hav to care 4 dem, encourage dem nd show dem love in their new faith, they wud neither hold them hostage sayin they are protectin dem from bein maltreated or persecuted by their family. can dese pple sight an instance where an islam convert was harmed or get killed as it has often happened to christian converts by their families who see it as act of commitment and faithfulnes to Allah. I acknowledge and undstand wat happend is an opportunity for muslims to boost their claim of the “true religion”, but they shud not push their luck or get overwelmed byond necessary at d detriment of d family of one innocent family. they can still achiev their aim of wantin to use these as an opportunity to propergate their religion without employing oppresn & intimidatn. And my final word is, ds girl just chose a religion by choosing islam, she has never known Christ the true Saviour.