SSS Operative Accused of Abducting, Raping, Forcibly Converting Muslim Girl
The State Security Service (SSS) has arrested its operative, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, following a petition alleging he abducted a Muslim girl, Walida Abdulhadi, kept her in an SSS residence for two years, sexually exploited her, and forcibly converted her to Christianity. The family reported losing Walida's mother to the trauma during their desperate search. They only learned of her whereabouts when the suspect allegedly called her father on New Year’s Day 2026, claiming she had given birth to his child and that he intended to marry her.
The SSS confirmed the arrest, condemned the alleged conduct as a violation of its code of ethics, and announced a full investigation is underway, with assurances that findings will be made public. The family's lawyers have described the case as a grave abuse of office, demanding prosecution and an independent investigation of the SSS facility involved.
This case has sparked comparisons to the 2016 abduction and alleged forced conversion of Ese Oruru, a Christian girl to Islam, which drew widespread condemnation and international attention. The author questions whether this similar alleged incident involving a Muslim girl and a state security operative will receive the same volume of outrage, moral panic, and media scrutiny, or if it will be quietly processed because it does not fit a preferred narrative.
The 2016 Ese Oruru case was treated as a national crisis of religion and ethnicity, while critics argued it should have been addressed as a personal criminal matter. The alleged perpetrator, Yunusa Dahiru, was convicted and released in 2023. Ese Oruru later graduated from the University of Ilorin in 2025. This new case raises questions about consistency in public and media response to crimes involving religious conversion and abduction.