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Summary: A court has ordered the immediate arrest of DSS officer Ifeanyi Festus for the two-year abduction and sexual exploitation of Walida Abdulhadi, who was taken as a minor and held captive within a government estate.
A magistrate court in Jigawa State has ordered the arrest of Department of State Services (DSS) officer Ifeanyi Festus. He reportedly contacted the father of a missing 16-year-old girl, claiming that she had been living with him in a DSS estate, had given birth to his child, and that he was ready to marry her, according to court documents and a petition filed by the family.
The order follows a petition dated Jan 4, 2026, submitted by lawyers from Gamji Lawchain on behalf of Alhaji Abdulhadi Ibrahim, the father of Walida Abdulhadi, who went missing in 2023 at age 16.
The allegations involve the abduction, forced religious conversion, and sexual abuse of Walida Abdulhadi.
According to the petition, Festus abducted Walida as a minor, kept her away from her family for over two years, and prevented all contact between her and her parents while she lived inside a DSS estate in Abuja.
The petition stated that Festus personally called Walida’s father on Jan 1, 2026, identified himself as a serving DSS officer, and told him that Walida had been with him throughout her disappearance, she had given birth to his child, and he was now ready to marry her.
Following the call, the family sent a representative, Muhammad Badamasi Ibrahim, to Abuja. The petition stated that DSS officers took the representative to a DSS facility in Karmajjii, where officials confirmed that Walida had been living inside the DSS estate during the period she was reported missing.
When the representative demanded that Walida be released to return to her family, the petition stated that DSS officials refused to grant access to her and declined to release her, effectively keeping her in state custody despite her status as a minor at the time she disappeared.
The family further shared that Festus sexually exploited Walida while she was underage, resulting in pregnancy and childbirth. They also alleged that he converted her from Islam to Christianity without parental consent, an act described in the petition as forced religious conversion.
According to the petition, Walida’s mother died during the two-year period of her disappearance, after what the family described as prolonged psychological trauma caused by the search for her missing child.
Based on the petition and accompanying claims, the magistrate court issued an arrest order on Jan 7, 2026, directing law enforcement authorities to arrest Ifeanyi Festus and ordering that Walida be released and reunited with her family.
On social media, an X user, @YusufAsunmogejo, criticised the lack of early media coverage and called on the DSS to demonstrate accountability, stating that no security facility should serve as a shield for sexual abuse or child abduction.
The petition also called for an independent investigation into the DSS facility in Karmajjii, stating that other officers enabled Festus by allowing a missing minor to remain inside a DSS estate for over two years.
As of Jan 9, 2026, the Department of State Services has not issued a public statement responding to the court order or the allegations contained in the petition.
