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*PRESS RELEASE* *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Lagos, Sunday 1 November 2026* *THE DAWA CONVICTION: CAN MUST NOT TRADE ON AN INACCURATE NARRATIVE AT THE EXPENSE OF JUSTICE AND INTERFAITH TRUST* The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) Nigeria has followed with grave concern the public campaign surrounding the conviction of Mrs. Lami Samuel Dawa, also reported as Liyatu Samuel Dawa, and the role of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in shaping it. The details of the case as established by the Certified True Copy available online: In Suit No. BOHC/MG/CR/154/2025, The State v. Lami Samuel Dawa & 4 Others, the Borno State High Court, Maiduguri Judicial Division, delivered judgment on 5 May 2026 before Hon. Justice A. B. Kumdila. The defendants were charged on six counts: i. Conspiracy to abduct a child- Section 60(2), Penal Code Law of Borno State 2023; ii. Enticing a child away from her parents' custody - Section 210, Penal Code Law of Borno State 2023; iii. Abduction and removal of a child from lawful parental custody - Section 24(2)(11), Borno State Child Protection Law; iv. Depriving a child of remaining in school - Section 26(2)(b), Borno State Child Protection Law 2021; v. Depriving a 16-year-old girl of the practice of her religion and converting her to Christianity- Section 9, Child Protection Law 2021; vi. Screening an offender and evidence- Section 131, Penal Code Law of Borno State. All defendants pleaded not guilty. The prosecution called four witnesses, including the girl herself. As recorded in the judgment, the complainant testified that she was 13 years old and in JSS 3 when a teacher in her school began buying her gifts. She stated she was subsequently taken to the homes of co-defendants and to a church, and then moved to Jos where she was enrolled in a Bible school for new converts. On her return home, Mrs. Dawa allegedly told her that her parents were plotting to kill her, obtained her WAEC registration money, and supplied her with a phone, a SIM card and a change of clothes. Four co-defendants were discharged and acquitted. Mrs. Dawa was convicted. The court therefore distinguished between defendants on the evidence. The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON), Maiduguri Branch, which represented Mrs. Dawa and her co-defendants at trial, has itself stated that the allegations went beyond evangelism and has cautioned against presenting the case as a conviction for preaching. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has likewise called for restraint, noting that public information does not reflect the full circumstances. On 31 October 2026, CAN National President Archbishop Daniel Okoh issued a statement expressing concern, citing religious freedom and constitutional rights, and referring to "the conversion of an adult woman." The same statement conceded that "the precise facts and legal basis of the conviction are still being verified." MPAC asks the obvious question: How does an organisation that admits it has not yet verified the facts frame the case publicly as a religious-freedom violation? The certified judgment describes the complainant as a 16-year-old girl at the time of the relevant acts, and records her own testimony that her first contact with the defendants occurred at age 13. CAN's characterisation of her as "an adult woman" is therefore directly contradicted by the court record and by the account of the lawyers who defended the convict. A child's custody, schooling and welfare are not matters of religious liberty alone. They are matters of parental rights and child protection, which every faith tradition in Nigeria, ours and CAN's included, claims to defend. Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change one's religion. MPAC upholds that right without qualification, for Muslims and Christians alike. 1/3