A magistrate’s court in Jigawa State has issued an arrest warrant for Ifeanyi Festus, an official of the State Security Service (SSS), following allegations that he abducted a teenage girl.
Mr Festus is accused of abducting Walida Abdulhadi from the Hadejia Local Government Area of the state, forcing her religious conversion, and fathering a child with her.
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According to the prosecution, the victim was subjected to forced conversion from Islam to Christianity and endured a series of sexual assaults that resulted in pregnancy and the subsequent birth of a child.
Representing the applicant, counsel Kabiru Adamu moved a motion requesting the court to compel the arrest of Mr Festus.
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The application also sought a formal investigation into the alleged offences by the Jigawa State Police Command, citing Section 125 and Section 102(5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL).
The magistrate, Sadisu Musa, granted the application, directing the police to apprehend the suspect and conduct a “discreet and thorough investigation.”
The court also ordered the SSS to immediately release the victim and reunite her with her family.
Background
The case reportedly began when Walida was 16 years old. Her father informed local news outlet Falcon Times Hausa that the family spent years searching for her, eventually presuming she had died.
The trauma of her disappearance reportedly led to the untimely death of her mother.
The victim was recently discovered at Mr Festus’s residence in Abuja. Another lawyer involved in the case, identified as Barrister Hussaini, alleged that after years of unlawfully holding her, the suspect converted Walida to Christianity, and the suspect is now purportedly seeking the father’s consent to marry her.
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Mr Hussaini has petitioned President Bola Tinubu and the SSS to ensure the case is handled with transparency and that justice is served.
As of Friday morning, PREMIUM TIMES could not reach the SSS to respond to requests for comment regarding the court order or the allegations against its official.
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