The Bauchi State Police Command has released 16-year-old Jennifer Joseph, a Christian teenager from Adamawa State, to her parents following weeks of controversy over her custody and disputed religious identity.
Jennifer was released to her parents on Monday after extensive deliberations at the Bauchi State Police Command, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The development followed sustained public attention and extensive reporting by SaharaReporters on the circumstances surrounding the teenager, who became the centre of a dispute involving her parents, the Bishara Dole Christian Ministry and an Islamic Da’awah group in Bauchi. 
Reverend Mohammed Mohammed of The Gospel of Christ Must Be Preach International Ministry, popularly known as Bishara Dole, confirmed Jennifer’s release to SaharaReporters on Tuesday.
Mohammed, however, disclosed that the police had detained Rev. Badamasi, a staff member of the Bishara Dole ministry, over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while transporting her from her family home in Adamawa State to the ministry in Bauchi.
He described the allegation as unfounded and “laughable,” while insisting that the matter should be investigated properly.
Jennifer’s release comes after a series of controversial developments that had left her parents stranded in Bauchi while seeking to regain custody of their daughter.
The latest development has now introduced another layer to the controversy following the detention of Rev. Badamasi.
According to Reverend Mohammed, the Bishara Dole staff member was detained over an allegation that he molested Jennifer while accompanying her from Adamawa to Bauchi in a commercial bus.
Mohammed rejected the allegation, describing it as “laughable” and insisting that the ministry would not be deterred by what he considered attempts to discredit its members.
SaharaReporters could not independently establish the circumstances surrounding Badamasi’s detention or the allegation against him.
The development is also significant because earlier reports had documented claims by Bishara Dole that allegations of child molestation had been made against the ministry as part of what Mohammed described as an attempt to discredit the Christian organisation.
The ministry had called for an independent investigation into all allegations rather than allowing competing religious interests to determine Jennifer’s custody.
With Jennifer now released to her parents, attention is expected to shift to the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s custody, the competing claims over her religious identity and the allegations that emerged during the dispute.
