By Abubakar Haruna Muhammad (9News Nigeria Northeast)
A Borno State High Court judgment has sent a primary school teacher to prison for 14 years.
The judgement has ignited a national debate on religious freedom, child rights and the thin line between evangelism and child abduction.
The woman at the centre of the storm is 38-year-old Mrs Lami Samuel Dawa, a native of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, and wife of Evangelist Amos Suleiman.
On May 5, 2026, Justice A. B. Kumdila of High Court No 12, Maiduguri Judicial Division, delivered judgment in suit number BOHC/MG/CR/154/2025, The State versus Lami Samuel Dawa and five others.
The court convicted Lami and sentenced her to 14 years imprisonment with no option of fine.
According to the certified judgment obtained by this reporter, Lami and four others stood trial on six counts bordering on conspiracy to abduct a child, enticing a child away from parental custody, abduction and removal from lawful custody, deprivation of education, interference with religious practice and screening an offender.
The prosecution, which called four witnesses, alleged that sometime in 2022, Lami enticed a 16-year-old Muslim girl identified as Aisha Kabir Saleh from her parents’ home in Maiduguri and moved her to Christian institutions in Jos, Plateau State, without parental consent.
The girl was allegedly kept away from school and converted to Christianity in the process.
In a twist that raised more questions, the court discharged and acquitted all the other defendants including Lami’s husband, Amos Suleiman, Binta Mamman Sasuwa and Esther Simon, who received the girl in Jos, and Yusuf Anuwa.
Justice Kumdila held that the prosecution failed to prove that the co-defendants knew the girl had been illegally taken from her parents.
The conspiracy charge against all the defendants was also dismissed.
Lami was found guilty on three counts and sentenced to 14 years for enticing a child, 14 years for removal from lawful custody and 10 years for depriving the child of education.
After her plea for leniency during allocutus, the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
She will serve a total of 14 years, not 38 years.
She was convicted under Section 210 of the Borno State Penal Code Law 2023 and Section 24(2)(11) of the Borno State Child Protection Law 2021 – both secular laws applicable to all residents of Borno State.
Since news of the conviction broke, two conflicting narratives have dominated social media.
The first, championed by international Christian advocacy group Barnabas Aid and several online blogs, claims Lami was jailed simply for sharing her faith with an adult Muslim woman who voluntarily converted to Christianity.
Barnabas Aid, in a report published on October 30, identified the convert as Liyatu Samuel Dawa, said to be in her late thirties, and quoted Evangelist Amos as saying his wife never forced anyone to convert.
The report, which also claimed the trial judge is named Justice Kumalia, said Lami’s elder sister is actually Liyatu, creating confusion over names.
The second narrative, supported by the actual court record, Muslim News Nigeria which obtained the certified judgment, and a detailed analysis by security analyst Dr Bulama Bukarti who said he has read the full proceedings, insists the case is about child abduction, not religion.
“The record tells a different story. This is a case about a child, not a creed,” Bukarti wrote in his analysis published on November 1, 2026.
According to him, none of the counts for which Lami was convicted punishes anyone for being Christian or preaching.
The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria, CLASFON, whose lawyers defended Lami throughout the trial, has also cautioned against reducing the case to religious persecution.
In a statement, CLASFON said the case raises legal questions that must be tested on appeal, including the age and legal status of the girl, proof of lawful custody, and evaluation of evidence.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has also waded in on the matter.
In a statement on Saturday, October 31, CAN President Archbishop Daniel Okoh said the case raises questions about religious freedom and constitutional rights and demanded answers.
He confirmed that an appeal has been filed.
Sources close to the family told this paper that Evangelist Amos Suleiman was detained for several months at the start of the case before securing bail, and has since gone into hiding following alleged death threats from extremists in Gwoza, making it difficult for him to visit his wife in Maiduguri custody.
As of Sunday, November 2, 2026, Mrs Lami Samuel Dawa remains in the Maiduguri Correctional Centre.
The Borno State Government, through the Commissioner for Information, Internal Security and Home Affairs, Prof Usman Tar, said it has no comment as the matter is sub judice.
The appeal court will now have to decide whether Aisha was a child or an adult entitled to choose her religion, whether Lami actually enticed her away, and whether Section 210 was properly applied.
Until the appeal is decided, the judgment stands – 14 years for a primary school teacher caught between faith and the law.
