The Yobe State Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ethical Reorientation and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have refuted claims that 30 Christian teenage girls were abducted and forcefully converted to Islam.
The allegations, which were published by an online news outlet, claimed that the state ministry was involved in the abduction and forced conversion of the girls in 2019.
Speaking to journalists on Monday in Damaturu, the state capital, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Yusuf Hassan Yusuf, dismissed the report as baseless and malicious, designed to cause discord among the state’s religious communities.
He categorically denied any involvement in such actions, noting that it is un-Islamic to force anyone to convert or marry against their will.
Similarly, CAN Secretary in Yobe State, Reverend Ibrahim Kure Abagu, refuted the allegations, stating that the association had never encountered such incidents.
He expressed surprise at the report, questioning how such an event could occur without the knowledge of relevant stakeholders or security agencies.