DSS Officer Arrested Over Alleged Rape, Forced Conversion of 16-Year-Old Muslim Girl to Christianity

DSS Officer Arrested Over Alleged Rape, Forced Conversion of 16-Year-Old Muslim Girl to Christianity

The Department of State Services (DSS) has taken one of its operatives into custody over allegations of abduction, defilement, and forceful religious conversion of a 16-year-old Muslim girl, Walida Abdulhadi, in Abuja.

The arrest followed a petition dated January 4, submitted by Abuja-based law firm Gamji Lawchain to the Director-General of the DSS. The petition, obtained via X (formerly Twitter), was filed on behalf of Walida’s father, Alhaji Abdulhadi Ibrahim, and his family.

According to the law firm, the DSS officer allegedly abducted Walida from Hadejia, Jigawa State, when she was still a minor. The firm emphasized that under Nigerian law, Walida could not legally consent to any sexual relationship at the time of her disappearance.

The petition stated that the family searched for Walida for over two years without success, a period marked by extreme emotional distress that reportedly contributed to the death of her 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 said.

The case reportedly took a dramatic turn on January 1, when the DSS operative allegedly contacted the girl’s father, informing him that Walida had been living with him, had given birth to a child, and that he was “ready to marry her.”

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Due to old age and ill health, the father sent a representative, Muhammad Badamasi Ibrahim, to a DSS facility in Abuja, where he was allegedly told that Walida had been living in a DSS residential facility during her absence. The family’s request for her release was reportedly refused.

Lawchain also alleged that Walida was converted from Islam to Christianity without parental consent and subjected to sexual exploitation, resulting in pregnancy and childbirth while still a minor.

Describing the allegations as “moral bankruptcy in uniform,” the law firm warned that failure to act decisively could erode public trust in state institutions.

The petition demanded the immediate suspension, arrest, and prosecution of the operative, an independent investigation into the Karmariji DSS facility, and the release and protection of Walida and her child. It also called for disciplinary action against any DSS personnel found complicit.

Reacting to the allegations, DSS Director of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, confirmed that an operative had been arrested and is under investigation.

“The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to reports alleging involvement of a staff of DSS in a case of abduction, defilement of a minor, and abuse of office. For clarity, the Service has no record of the above-named in its employment.
However, it is hereby confirmed that an active staff, suspected to have forcefully converted and married Walida Abdulhadi, has been arrested and is currently being investigated,” the statement said.

Dozie added that such actions violate DSS regulations and code of conduct, assuring that the outcome of the investigation would be made public.

 

DSS Officer Arrested Over Alleged Rape, Forced Conversion of 16-Year-Old Muslim Girl to Christianity