“Tabitha” was just 15 years old when she was taken away from her family.
A Muslim man wanted to marry her, and refusing to take “no” for an answer he arranged for the Christian girl to be abducted and her religion officially changed to Islam.
This disgusting crime was made possible by the Hisbah Corps – the religious police in the 12 northern Nigerian states that practise sharia (Islamic law) – who carried out the kidnapping and held Tabitha while preparations were made for the forced marriage.
Justice, however, is made possible by you.
Christians are at risk from decisions made against them in Nigeria’s sharia courts [Image credit: AoG Nigeria/Facebook]
Sharia law is only supposed to apply to Muslim citizens, but in practice Christians can find themselves coerced by sharia police and sharia courts.
Even through the secular courts, Christians in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority northern states struggle to find justice because of poverty and discrimination.
Abductions, forced marriages and forced conversions are only one form of injustice faced by Christians. Farmers are in danger of being forced from their lands. Church buildings may be confiscated. Your brothers and sisters can readily become the victims of false “blasphemy” allegations.
Join the work for justice
Through the prophet Micah, the Lord declares, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (6:8, ESV).
Today, you can join the work for justice.
Barnabas Aid’s project partner is a Nigerian ministry of lawyers and law students. They have drawn up plans for a legal advocacy and protection programme that consists of three key parts.
- Legal guidance and representation for Christian victims of violence, abduction, sexual assault, forced marriage and forced conversion.
- Legal support for believers facing wrongful prosecution.
- Emergency relocation and referral to safe houses for those facing severe threats to their safety.
Christian communities in northern Nigeria are at severe risk. Will you join the fight for justice on their behalf? 
This programme will reach far beyond the individuals involved in individual cases.
Success in these cases creates legal precedent that protects others. Evidence of injustice and corruption is a powerful tool in challenging unjust laws.
Thanks to this work, Tabitha is now safely reunited with her family. But many others are still in desperate need.
Can you give – can you pray – to support the work of justice?
Featured image for illustrative purposes only. Image credit: Chidi Young/Pexels
How you can pray
Father God, we pray for Christian women and girls who, like “Tabitha”, are at risk of forced marriage, forced conversion and other abuses. We pray for believers wrongly accused, for churches at risk of losing their property, for Christian farmers who may be forced from their land. Please bless the work of justice on their behalf, for we ask it in our Saviour’s name.
How you can give
$32 could help cover logistical costs for lawyers representing a Christian throughout a court case (approximately ten gifts of this amount would cover the total for one case)
$100 could cover the cost of relocating a Christian to a safe house
$500 could over the court administrative fees for one case
Project ref: 00-568 (West Africa)