DSS Arrests Officer Over Alleged Abduction, Rape, Forced Conversion of 16-Year-Old Girl
“The DSS has arrested one of its officers over alleged abduction, defilement, and forceful religious conversion of a 16-year-old girl in Abuja. Full details.”
A staff member of the Department of State Services (DSS), Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, has been arrested by the agency over allegations of abduction, defilement, abuse of office, and forceful conversion of a 16-year-old girl, Walida Abdulhadi, in Abuja.
Famous Reporters reports, citing The PUNCH, that the arrest followed a petition dated January 4, written by an Abuja-based law firm, Gamji Lawchain, on behalf of the girl’s father, Alhaji Abdulhadi Ibrahim, and his family.
A copy of the petition, addressed to the Director-General of the DSS, was obtained by our correspondent via X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.
In the petition, the law firm accused the DSS officer of abducting Walida from the Hadejia area of Jigawa State when she was allegedly 16 years old, noting that she was a minor and therefore legally incapable of consenting to any sexual relationship under Nigerian law.
According to the petition, Walida’s family reportedly searched for her for over two years without success, a period described as emotionally devastating. The prolonged trauma, the petition claimed, contributed to the death of the girl’s mother.
“The anxiety, fear, and emotional devastation of losing their underage daughter slowly destroyed the mother, who eventually died as a direct consequence of the psychological trauma,” the petition stated.
The petition further revealed that on January 1, the DSS officer allegedly contacted Walida’s father, informing him that the girl had been with him throughout the period of her disappearance, had given birth to a child, and that he was “ready to marry her.”
Due to old age and ill health, the father reportedly sent a family representative, Muhammad Badamasi Ibrahim, to a DSS facility in Abuja. There, he was allegedly informed that Walida had been living within a DSS residential facility for the entire duration of her disappearance.
The law firm claimed that when the family demanded Walida’s release, the request was refused.
It further alleged that while under the suspect’s custody, Walida was forcefully converted from Islam to Christianity without parental consent and subjected to sexual exploitation, resulting in pregnancy and childbirth while she was still a minor.
Describing the allegations as “moral bankruptcy in uniform,” the law firm warned that failure to act decisively could undermine public trust in state institutions.
The petition demanded the immediate suspension, arrest, and prosecution of the DSS officer, an independent investigation into the Karmajiji DSS facility, the release and protection of Walida and her child, and disciplinary action against any DSS personnel found complicit.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Friday, the DSS Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, confirmed the arrest of a DSS officer in connection with the case.
Dozie stated that the officer, identified as Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, was being investigated over the suspected forceful conversion and marriage of Walida, adding that investigations were ongoing.
“The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to reports alleging involvement of a staff of the DSS, one Ifeanyi Festus, in a case of abduction, defilement of a minor, and abuse of office, among other offences. For clarity, the Service has no record of the above-named in its employment,” the statement said.
“However, it is hereby confirmed that an active staff, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, who is suspected to have forcefully converted and married one Walida Abdulhadi (female), has been arrested and is currently under investigation.”
The DSS spokesperson stressed that such acts were contrary to the agency’s regulations and code of conduct, assuring that the outcome of the investigation would be made public.
