Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State last night took custody of Walida Abdulhadi Ibrahim, the missing girl from Jigawa State, who had been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
He said the issues relating to her abduction would be handled by the courts, assuring that justice will be served.
The governor said Walida is the daughter of Jigawa State and that the government will ensure her safety and full recovery from whatever trauma she might have passed through.
The governor was accompanied to the headquarters of the DSS in Abuja by the Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, Haruna Aliyu; the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Barrister Bello Abdulkadir Fanini; the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Hajiya Hadiza Abdulwahab; and her counterpart in the Ministry of Environment, Dr Nura Ibrahim Doka, among others.
The Director General of the DSS, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, alongside principal officers of the Service, handed over Walida to the governor.
The Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) was represented by the Deputy National Legal Adviser, Barrister Haroun Muhammad, and a member of the Expanded General Purpose Committee, Alhaji Najib Jimoh.
Officials of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), other civil society organisations, and the media were present.
However, Walida’s parents were not present at the DSS headquarters during the handing over, which lasted until around 10:40 pm.
Walida was allegedly abducted from Hadejia Local Government Area of Jigawa State by one Mariam, who later subjected her to sexual exploitation before she fled.
She later found herself in Abuja and thereafter moved in with an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi.
She gave birth to a baby girl in November 2025.
On Saturday, February 21, 2026, Weekend Trust exclusively published an interview with Walida during which she narrated her harrowing experiences.
Walida went missing in 2023, and in December 2025, her father received a call from Ifeanyi, the DSS operative, who informed him that she was with him.
After strenuous efforts by her relatives to recover her from Ifeanyi proved abortive, a petition was reportedly filed by her uncle at the DSS headquarters in Abuja, and thereafter, the family approached a court in Jigawa State
The court directed that Walida should be released to her parents, but the DSS filed a counter-motion, insisting that they were investigating the matter.
Following the Weekend Trust story, various groups voiced reservations about the continued stay of Walida in the custody of the DSS.
On Monday, a coalition comprising the Abuja chapter of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), the Muslim Students’ Organisation of Nigeria (MSO), and Women in Da’awa addressed a world press conference in Abuja where they called for the transfer of Walida to a neutral ground
