Photos: Police secure the release of 13-year-old girl abducted & converted to Islam by her uncle in Bauchi

The Bauchi State Police have secured the release of a young girl that was abducted by her Uncle in Bauchi State and forcibly converted to Islam.

Her father, an ordained Elder of Seventh-day Adventist Church, Elder Bawa Buba, had written an open letter to cry out over the abduction and islamization of his 13 year old daughter Alheri Bawa by her uncle Mal Dauda Buba.

According to him, she had gone to visit her uncles in their family compound in Siri Village, but later followed one of her uncle's children to spend the weekend in Bauchi city.

Days after she did not return, he made a call to Dauda Buba, who is a son to his Elder brother, to whom the girl had gone to visit, to enquire whether my daughter was with him as reported. To his surprise, he was informed of the shocking news and told that the girl had been islamized, that he should forget about seeing her any time soon. When their family members could not internally resolve the issue, he took the case to the Police - who tried to help but later regarded it as a mere Civil case. This forced him to reach out to the media for help.

After weeks of pressure from the media and international community, including the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, the Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Baba Tijanni, secured Alheri Bawa's release and safely reunited her with her family. Her abductor - Mal Dauda Bawa is currently in police custody and would reportedly be charged to court soon.

Photo Credit: George Onmonya Daniel