By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Kano State Attorney General has withdrawn a court application seeking to bury 13-year-old David Solomon Tarfa, who died in state custody, according to a statement by US-based human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe.

Ogebe said the decision halted plans to conduct a Muslim burial for the late orphan, who had been committed to the Du Merci orphanage before his removal to Nassarawa Orphanage in Kano.

“We note with appreciation that the Kano State Attorney General has withdrawn the court application seeking to bury the late orphan David Solomon Tarfa as a Muslim,” he stated.

“This action mitigates somewhat the tragedy of the 13-year-old’s untimely death at Nassarawa Orphanage in violation of a court order for his release back to the Du Merci orphanage.”

However, the lawyer said concerns persist over the continued detention of the remaining children from the Du Merci Orphanage, who have been in state custody since 2019.

“Proceedings over the release of the remaining Du Merci children … have once again been adjourned from today to April,” he said, noting that a subsisting High Court consent judgment had ordered their return a year ago.

“The continued relitigation of a final court judgment creates procedural obstructions that undermine both justice and the best interests of the children,” Ogebe added.

Contrasting treatment

Ogebe contrasted the Du Merci case with that of 22-year-old Walida Abdulhadi, in which a Magistrate Court reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a Department of State Services officer allegedly romantically involved with her.

“In that matter, a Magistrate Court issued an arrest warrant for the DSS officer allegedly romantically involved with her,” he said.

“The public attention and swift legal action in Walida’s case … stands in stark contrast to the apparent inertia and repeated disobedience of the Du Merci orphans handover order.”

He questioned what he described as selective urgency in the application of the law.

“Why must one case be fast-tracked while the other left behind?” Ogebe asked. “Selective urgency in the application of the rule of law, particularly where the rights of children are at stake, is destructive and unconscionable.”

Call for accountability

The lawyer cited constitutional and international child-rights protections, stressing that “the best interests of the child” must be paramount in decisions affecting minors and that every child has the right to timely and effective judicial remedy.

He also called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding David’s death on January 28, alleging that the boy suffered serious illness without appropriate medical care while in state custody.

“The circumstances of his passing warrant a thorough investigation and should not be compounded by avoidable procedural delays,” he stated.

Ogebe urged an expedited hearing in April on contempt proceedings against Kano’s Commissioner for Women’s Affairs over the continued detention of the children and called for “full compliance with the existing one-year-old Kano State High Court consent judgment ordering their release.”

“We respectfully call for prioritisation of the welfare and best interests of the remaining orphans and a transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding David’s death,” he added.

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