Walida: Arewa youths warn against undue interference

2026-02-23 - 20:16

By Soni Daniel Arewa youths on Monday warned against undue interference and politicisation of the case of a woman said to have been living with a Department of State Services (DSS) operative without the consent of her parents. The woman, Walida Abdulhadi Ibrahim, is at the centre of controversy following claims and counterclaims of abduction and forced marriage to a DSS official, Ifaenye Onyewuenyi. The woman claims she is 22 but her parents said she disappeared at the age of 16 and was converted from Islam into Christianity and she now has a child with the DSS operative, a development strongly abhorred by her parents and relatives. But apparently fearing untoward reactions against the young woman, the DSS has been keeping her under what it terms ‘protective custody’, an action that has not gone down well with Muslim groups and other interested parties. But the Arewa Youth Assembly, a northern influence group, on Monday asked those dabbling in the matter to respect the rights and decisions taken by the woman. The Speaker of Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, warned at a news conference in Abuja that it was wrong for interested parties to dabble into a purely personal issue that involves a woman and a man, who now have a young daughter in their relationship. Danlami wondered what the interested parties were out to introduce into the relationship between them after the two had been blessed with a daughter. Danlami argued since the matter had formally been reported to NAPTIP and the Social Welfare of the Ministry of Women Affairs and the suspect who reportedly lured Walida from her home brought under investigation, the parties should allow the relevant agencies to carry out the needed investigation. The Arewa group also endorsed the protective custody of the young woman by the DSS, arguing that it was for the safety and protection of Walida and her baby. Danlami said that, as an agency that does not tolerate indiscipline, as shown in the dismissal of no fewer than 115 staff who misbehaved, the DSS has remained neutral in the case of Walida so far. AYA pointed out that since it had been established that Walida and her father had been communicating even under DSS protective custody, third parties should stop undue interference in the matter. “It has been established that Walida made the first call to her father. The father and the daughter have been conversing, which is why the father requested her medical evaluation to ascertain her psychological state of mind,” Dandami said.