Arewa youths on Monday warned against undue interference and politicisation of the ordeal of Walida, a 22 year-old woman whose relationship with a Department of State Services (DSS) operative, has become the subject of controversy.
The woman, Walida Abdulhadi Ibrahim, is at the centre of the controversy, following claims by some family members of hers and certain religious groups that, not only is she underaged, but was abducted and forced into marriage by a DSS official, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi.
In an interview with a national daily last week, Walida disclosed that she was indeed lured by a certain lady in Hadejia, Jigawa State and brought to Abuja. It was in Abuja, she said, that she managed to escape, and later found love and care with Ifeanyi, a move that has drawn the ire of her parents and relatives.
However, apparently afraid of the fate that could befall Walida should she be forced to return to her parents, the DSS has kept her under what it called “protective custody,” and has reportedly invited the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Social Welfare of the Ministry of Women Affairs to prove the matter.
The development hasn’t settled well with Walida’s family, some Muslim groups, and some other interested parties.
The Arewa Youth Assembly, a northern influence group, on Monday in Abuja advised those dabbling into the matter to respect the fundamental human rights of Walida who now has a baby for Ifeanyi.
Speaker of Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, warned at a news conference in Abuja that it was wrong for interested parties to dabble into a purely personal issue that involves a woman and a man, who now have a young daughter in their relationship.
The group expressed surprise that interested parties were out to ruin the relationship between Walida and Ifeanyi after the two had been blessed with a daughter.
He said his group found it disturbing that some groups were interested in usurping the duties of NAPTIP) and the Social Welfare of the Ministry of Women Affairs, bodies he said had been duly notified of the matter and had launched investigations.
The group further expressed surprise that the groups weren’t interested in how Walida was lured and taken from her home, saying the syndicate may have lured many more young girls from the north.
The Arewa group commended the DSS for living up to its constitutional mandate of protecting Walida, saying the secret police acted without fear or favour.
Danlami said that as an agency that does not tolerate indiscipline as shown in the recent dismissal of no fewer than 115 staff for various offences, the DSS has shown itself to be above board.
AYA pointed out that since it had been established that Walida and her father had been communicating even under DSS protective custody, third parties should stop undue interference in the matter.
“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,” Dandami declared.
