The Kano State Government has gone to court seeking an order to bury David Tarfa, 13, a Christian orphan who died in its custody, as a Muslim.

David Tarfa and others were taken from a Christian orphanage named Du Merci Children Development Ministry since Christmas 2018.

The State Government thereafter claimed that the children had been converted to Muslims and gave them Muslim names, with David Tarfa being assigned the name Dauda Suleiman. Du Merci Children Development Ministry is, however, opposing the move, arguing that David was a minor and could not have converted without parental consent – the parent, in this case, being Du Merci, which adopted him and the other seized children.

But determined to have its way, the Kano State Government has gone to court through the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and Disable, and the Attorney General of Kano State.

The suit filed at the Juvenile Court of Kano State on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, has Du Merci Children Development Ministry as respondents.

In the court papers sighted by News Express, the State Government is seeking:

AN ORDER directing a post-mortem examination (autopsy) be conducted on the body of the deceased by name David Tarfa (now Dauda Suleiman) who died while in custody of Nasarawa Orphanage Home, Kano State, for the purpose of determining the cause of death.

AN ORDER directing the management of Nasarawa Orphanage Home, Kano State, to release the body of the deceased after the post-mortem examination ahs been conducted for the burial according to Islamic rites.

News Express could not immediately confirm if a date has been assigned for hearing of the suit.

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