A constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, Hamza Nuhu Dantani, has formally petitioned the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), alleging a deliberate attempt to conceal the circumstances surrounding the abduction, sexual abuse, and continued custody of a minor from Jigawa State, Walida Abdulhadi.
In the petition, obtained by SaharaReporters, Dantani — a member of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Citizens’ Liberty Committee — described the situation as a “calculated and coordinated effort” to obscure facts in a case involving a vulnerable child.
According to the document, Walida was abducted in 2023 while she was in Senior Secondary School II (SS2). Her father has consistently maintained that she was, and remains, underage — a claim the petition says has not been credibly disputed.
Dantani expressed concern over a recent publication by Daily Trust, which carried an interview said to have been granted by Walida. He alleged that the interview appeared scripted and crafted to protect a DSS operative, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, who is under investigation.
The narrative reportedly portrayed Walida as 22 years old and suggested that her interaction with the officer began only after she turned 18 in 2024 — a timeline Dantani argues is inconsistent with available facts and appears designed to shield the suspect from criminal responsibility.
The petition further criticised the introduction of a woman named “Mariam” in the interview, who was allegedly portrayed as the person responsible for abducting and sexually abusing Walida before transferring her to Abuja. Dantani described this account as legally incoherent and an attempt to divert attention from the central allegations.
He noted that being in SS2 in 2023 would typically place Walida between 13 and 15 years old. Even under generous assumptions, he argued, she would not be older than 17 in 2025.
The lawyer also pointed out that Walida reportedly gave birth to a baby girl in 2025, allegedly fathered by the DSS operative. He stated that this timeline indicates that sexual relations must have occurred months earlier — when she was still a minor — making any attempt to reframe the chronology untenable.
Dantani questioned the DSS’s neutrality in handling the case, given that the principal suspect is reportedly one of its operatives. He described this as a clear conflict of interest and called for Walida’s immediate release to her parents or lawful guardians.
Citing Nigeria’s domestication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Child Rights Act 2003, the petition underscored the legal protections afforded to minors. It stressed that the best interests of the child must remain paramount in all actions affecting them, and that children are entitled to protection from sexual abuse, degrading treatment, media exploitation, and unlawful detention.
The petition further argued that the DSS has no legal authority to retain custody of a child while permitting media exposure, describing such actions as contrary to both domestic and international law.
Dantani urged the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, gender-protection agencies, and the Jigawa State Government to intervene to ensure the child’s safety and justice. He warned that leaving the matter solely to the distressed father could jeopardise accountability.
He concluded by calling for the transfer of the investigation to an independent body and emphasised that the case represents a broader test of Nigeria’s commitment to the rule of law and child protection.
Earlier in January, SaharaReporters reported that a Magistrate Court in Jigawa State had ordered the arrest of a serving DSS officer over allegations including child abduction, sexual exploitation, unlawful detention, and forcible religious conversion of a 16-year-old girl.
In its order dated January 7, 2026, the court directed the Commissioner of Police in Jigawa or senior DSS officials to arrest the respondent, identified as Ifeanyi Festus (Onyewuenyi), and conduct a discreet investigation under relevant provisions of the Jigawa State Administration of Criminal Justice Law. The court also ordered that Walida be immediately released and reunited with her parents.
Subsequently, the DSS confirmed that a staff member, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, had been arrested and was under investigation.
In a statement, the agency clarified that while it had no record of “Ifeanyi Festus” in its employment, it acknowledged that an active staff member, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, suspected of forceful conversion and marriage involving Walida Abdulhadi, had been detained.
The DSS added that such alleged actions violate its regulations and code of conduct and assured that investigations were ongoing.