From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
A heated custody battle has erupted in Kwara State, as a foster mother, Pastor Cynthia Salami, has accused the Ministry of Social Development of defying a court order to release a four-year-old girl, Salami Penuel Mololuwa, who has been under state custody since March.
The child, who had been raised by Pastor Salami since birth, was removed from her care and placed at the Children Reception Center (Home for the Needy) following a complaint by her biological mother, Ayanniyi Oluwatobi. Despite an interlocutory order by the Family Court in Ilorin on March 28, 2025, which granted temporary custody to Salami, the Ministry has refused to release the child.
“This is a reckless abuse of power and a direct disobedience to the court. It’s a slap on the rule of law and democracy in Nigeria,” Salami said during a press briefing in Ilorin.
Recounting how she came into contact with the biological mother during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Salami explained that she took in Oluwatobi, then a 19-year-old who was brought to her church in a vulnerable state. She said her family provided shelter, care and later took full responsibility for the child after birth.
“She never showed interest in the child’s wellbeing. I fed, clothed, and cared for Penuel like my own. She never breastfed the baby and abandoned her until she returned two years later asking for custody,” Salami said.
She alleged that after she was invited for questioning by the Ministry, she was instructed to bring the child for an inspection but was instead ordered to hand her over to the state facility without any court hearing.
“I was shocked. There was no prior notice. I was crying, Penuel was crying too. She didn’t understand what was going on. They just took her,” she said, adding that the child had been kept in the home against her will and that of the court.
Salami insisted the child is not destitute and should not be housed among needy children when she has a home, love, and stability available.
“She is being subjected to emotional and psychological harm by this act,” she said.
In response, the Commissioner for Social Development, Hajia Maryam Nnafatima Imam, through the state’s legal counsel, confirmed that the state has initiated legal steps to set aside the court order.
“That is all we can say for now. The mother of the child is alive, and it is illegal to discuss details about a child’s case publicly. The child is safe with the government and the decision is in line with the mother’s consent,” the commissioner stated.
As legal proceedings continue, the situation has sparked wider debate over child custody, the rights of foster parents, and government accountability in enforcing court rulings.
