The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) on Monday cautioned against what it described as undue interference and politicisation of the situation involving Walida Abdulhadi Ibrahim, a 22-year-old woman whose relationship with a Department of State Services (DSS) operative has generated controversy.
Walida has been at the centre of public debate following allegations by some family members and certain religious groups that she is underaged and was abducted and forced into marriage by a DSS official, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi.
However, in an interview with a national daily last week, Walida stated that she was lured by a woman in Hadejia, Jigawa State, and taken to Abuja. She said she later escaped and subsequently found “love and care” with the DSS operative — a development that reportedly angered her parents and relatives.
The DSS has since placed Walida under what it described as “protective custody,” citing concerns for her safety. The agency reportedly invited the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Social Welfare Department of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to investigate the matter.
The arrangement has not gone down well with some members of Walida’s family and certain Muslim groups, who continue to question the circumstances surrounding the relationship.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, AYA Speaker Mohammed Salihu Danlami described the issue as a personal matter between two consenting adults who now have a daughter together. He urged third parties to respect Walida’s fundamental human rights and allow the relevant authorities to conclude their investigations.
Danlami expressed concern that some groups appeared more focused on breaking up the relationship than on investigating the alleged trafficking syndicate that reportedly lured Walida from her home in Jigawa State.
He commended the DSS for what he termed adherence to its constitutional mandate in providing protection, adding that the agency had demonstrated institutional discipline, referencing the recent dismissal of over 115 staff for various offences.
The AYA further noted that Walida and her father have been in communication while she remains in protective custody.
“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,” Danlami said.
The matter remains under investigation by the relevant authorities.
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