Wednesday 15 April. This should have been the day that the surviving Du Merci children finally came home to the Tarfa family in Nigeria. Yet once again, that long-awaited reunion was cruelly denied.
Professor Solomon and Mrs Mercy Tarfa are a Christian couple who co-founded the Du Merci Centres for vulnerable children in Kano and Kaduna. Twenty-seven children were unjustly taken from their care in December 2019, and they have been tirelessly seeking their return ever since.
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. Court 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. At the time of writing, his body has still not been released to his family.
Pressure and lies
After further delays, a handover meeting was finally set for Wednesday 15 April. This should have been the moment the seven surviving children came home – bringing an end to more than six years of traumatic separation. But that is not what happened.
A document was signed, stating that the seven surviving children had been returned to the Tarfas. Yet before proceedings had ended, the Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Development left the meeting, taking all the children with her.
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.
The children 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.
All of the children experienced consistent pressure to convert during their six years at the government facility. The youngest were most vulnerable to this pressure, and those who had succumbed to it were extremely emotional during the supposed handover meeting.
Responding together
Thank you for standing with the Tarfa family through every delay and disappointment. We know that many of you have been praying since the beginning.
Now 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.
Stay informed
Visit csw.org.uk/DuMerci-case for latest updates and a timeline of key moments, including how our prayer, campaigning and advocacy efforts are