A Borno State High Court has sentenced Liyatu Samuel Dawa to 14 years in prison. Justice A. B. Kumdila delivered the judgement in Maiduguri. The court convicted her under Section 210 of the Borno State Penal Code. The section deals with depriving a parent of lawful custody of a child. The judge imposed the maximum penalty and allowed no option of a fine.
Borno operates Sharia alongside the secular Penal Code. Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change faith. Section 210 was written for child abduction and parental custody, not for religious conversation. The appeal will test which law applies to the facts.
Dawa shared her Christian faith with a woman. The woman converted. She testified in court that she acted of her own free will. According to accounts of the proceedings, she told the court that nobody forced, threatened, cheated or deceived her. Dawa pleaded for leniency. “I am a mother,” she said. “I did not intend to cheat the victim. I only advised her. That is all.” The judge rejected the plea.
Her lawyers have appealed. They argue that Section 210 was misapplied. They also argue that the conviction breaches Section 38 of the Constitution.
The Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria disputes the account. It says the case involved a minor, Aisha Kabiru Saleh. It says Dawa removed the girl from her parents and hid her whereabouts.
The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria, Borno chapter, said the case carried multiple charges. Its chairman, Ephraim Ali Yidawi, said four other defendants were discharged and acquitted. He said Dawa’s appeal has been filed.
Dawa’s husband, Evangelist Amos Suleman, was detained for months before release on bail. He says he is in hiding after death threats in Gwoza. He has not visited his wife in Maiduguri.
No date has been set for the appeal.
Winners: The prosecution, which secured a maximum sentence. The judge, who applied the law as he interpreted it. Losers: Dawa, who is in prison. Her husband, who is in hiding. Their children. The convert, whose testimony was disregarded. Religious freedom in Borno, which faces a chilling effect. The rule of law, if Section 210 was misapplied.
Bottom Line: A woman is serving 14 years after a conversation about faith. The law used against her was written for child custody. The appeal is the only remaining check. If it fails, the precedent will stand.