The family of Jinkai Simon, a 17-year-old girl from Pankshin LGA of Plateau, has accused the Kano state Hisbah board of converting their missing daughter to Islam.
In a petition dated May 6, 2026, addressed to the Kaduna state commissioner of police seen by TheCable, the family alleged that the teenager was converted and later married off in Kano after she went missing in Kaduna.
TheCable understands that Jinkai, a student at St. Bartholomew’s Secondary School, Wusasa, Zaria, in Kaduna state, went missing on March 9 after leaving home for school.
She was said to have been living with her elder sister, Jennifer Simon, in the Kuregu area of Zaria before the incident.
According to the petition filed through the family’s lawyer, Jinkai was last seen with a neighbour identified as Ruqaiya.
The family alleged that Ruqaiya later informed them that Jinkai had converted to Islam and was taken to Kano, where she was handed over to the state Hisbah board.
The petition accused the board of changing the girl’s name from Jinkai Simon to Aisha Sani before allegedly marrying her off to a man identified as Abdulsamad.
“The Hisbah Board, upon receiving the girl, changed her name from Jinkai Simon to Aisha Sani and married her off to one Abdulsamad, and as such is now going by the name Aisha Abdulsamad,” the petition reads.
The family also alleged that documents were falsified to change her age from 17 to 19.
Documents attached to the petition showed that the teenager was allegedly taken before a Kano state high court where she deposed to an affidavit declaring that she is 19 years old.
The parents accused the board of forging consent documents purportedly signed by them to facilitate the process.
“In order to perpetrate these illegal acts, the Hisbah Board went as far as forging consent documents purported to have been signed by parents, including causing her to swear to an affidavit that she is 19 years old,” the family said.
The family asked the police commissioner to investigate the matter and ensure the safe return of the teenager.
The petition was copied to the inspector-general of police (IGP), the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna state, the Anglican bishop of the Diocese of Wusasa, Zaria, Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria (CSW-N), and the youth wing of CAN in Kaduna state.
