By Professor Ishaq Akintola,

‎‎An officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, has been detained for abduction, defilement, and forceful conversion of a Muslim girl. Walida Abdulhadi, at the age of 16, to Christianity.

‎‎Meanwhile a faith-based human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has demanded justice for Walida and her parents as well as prosecution of the officer.

‎‎In a statement issued on Saturday, 10th January, 2026, the group commended the DSS for taking prompt action but warned that the case should not be swept under the carpet. The statement was issued by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

‎‎According to MURIC:

‎‎”An officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, has been detained for abduction, defilement, and forceful conversion of a Muslim girl. Walida Abdulhadi, at the age of 16.

‎‎”This is atrocious, egregious and preposterous. It is terrorism in uniform. The suspect does not deserve to wear the uniform of an ordinary uniformed voluntary organisation, talk less of the uniform of the highly respected and prestigious DSS. This man should be out away for a long, long time.

‎‎”We commend the DSS for taking prompt action. Nonetheless, we warn that the case should not be swept under the carpet.”

‎‎Continuing, MURIC said, “We will not rest until justice is not only done but seen to have been done. Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi is a bad egg, a bad example. We know that the DSS is a highly disciplined security agency. They are generally made up of decent men and women but Ifeanyi is the black sheep among them. DSS must make him a scape goat.”

‎‎Ifeanyi’s arrest and subsequent detention was sequel to a petition dated January 4, written by an Abuja-based law firm, Gamji Lawchain.

‎Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).