The hearing of a case requesting Walida Abdulhadi’s unconditional release and her reunification with her family has been postponed to March 26, 2026, by a Federal High Court in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State.
Police in Hadejia Local Government Area have detained Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, who they say is an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), on suspicion of sexually assaulting Walida.
After Abdulmalik Sani, the defence lawyer, asked for more time to file a counter-affidavit in response to the plaintiff’s plea, the presiding judge, Justice Hassan Dikko, approved the extension.
During the court session, Kabir Adamu, who represented the plaintiff, informed the judge that he was ready to move forward with the case and bring an application for the victim’s immediate release and family reunion.
In addition, the plaintiff is requesting that the court direct the DSS to turn over the suspected criminal, Ifeanyi Onyewuenyi, to the Commissioner of Police in Jigawa State for additional investigation.
Following the hearing of arguments on both parties, Justice Dikko postponed further proceedings to March 26, 2026, to address preliminary objections and other outstanding petitions.
After the hearing, Adamu spoke with reporters and said that the victim’s right to justice was the impetus for the lawsuit.
According to him, Walida’s legal team is pleading with the court to permit her unconditional release and family reunification, and to force the DSS to turn over the suspect to the police so an appropriate investigation may take place.
Since the DSS is already embroiled in the case, Adamu maintained that it should not be permitted to conduct an investigation.
He claims that the government would be acting as “a judge in its own case” if it were allowed to conduct the probe. In addition, he mentioned that the respondents had asked for further time to sort through their documents and write their counter-affidavit.