Sharia court in Nigeria upholds forced marriage of Muslim tailor to church leader's 16-year-old daughter

A Sharia court in Nigeria has forced the 16-year-old daughter of a Christian church leader to convert to Islam and marry her Muslim boss.

Janet Habila, who has been working as an apprentice to a tailor identified only as Nasiru, was forced to marry her Muslim boss without her parents' consent.

Habila was enrolled by her father in Nasiru's tailoring school in the Erena district of the Shiroro Local Government Area after she refused to further her education beyond primary school.

The 16-year-old girl had served as the leader of Sabo Rayi (new life) group in church, while her father, Habila Gambo, is a devoted church leader with the United Mountain of Grace in Shundna village, according to the Nigerian newspaper The Sunday Sun.

Habila's parents said they enrolled their daughter in Nasiru's school last year in order to empower her in the trade of fashion design, but they were surprised when they received notification on March 16, 2017 that she had been married off to the tailor instead.

A source close to the girl's family told The Sun that Nasiru may have arranged a Muslim man and a women to pose as Habila's parents in court so that the marriage could take place.

Gambo reportedly warned that unless the Sharia court's decision is reversed, "it will eventually lead to a possible religious crisis in Erena."

"I told the Sharia court judge that as a father of Janet, I was not aware of such arrangement because my daughter never discussed anything like that with me. Therefore, I was not going to accept it and I would not be part of it," Gambo narrated.

"But to my surprise the judge told me that the court only wanted to inform me and that was all. He said that the marriage would go on as planned even without my consent," he continued.

Habila said that she was afraid to tell her parents about Nasiru's intention to marry her "because of the consequences."

The 16-year-old girl was turned over to her parents, but when they returned to the police station five days later, Habila said that she wanted to return to Nasiru.

The father wept uncontrollably as the police handed Habila over to Nasiru because only the same court that pronounced them husband and wife could dissolve the marriage.

Habila's mother, Asabe Gambo, came to visit her later in Nasiru's home, but she was reportedly beaten by the man's relatives who described her as an unbeliever who came to poison the mind of the teenager.

Daniel Harris, a regional manager for the Christian persecution watchdog International Christian Concern, said that as many as 12 northern Nigerian states have adopted Sharia law. He also noted that in 2016, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria stated that over 1,000 girls have been entered into forced marriages with Muslims in northern Nigeria.