Mr. Charles Oruru, the father of Ese Oruru, the then 13-year-old girl
abducted and taken to Kano where she was allegedly raped, forcibly
Islamised and married off without her parents’ consent, is lamenting
that the family has been abandoned.
He also said that all the promises made by the governments of Bayelsa
and Delta states as well as some non-governmental organisations with
regard to Ese’s scholarship had not been fulfilled.
The abduction of Ese, the youngest child of Charles Oruru and Rose
Oruru, occurred on 12 August, 2015 at her mother’s shop in Yenagoa Local
Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Ese, who was 13 years old at the time, was abducted by a man named
Yunusa Dahiru (alias Yellow) and taken to Kano, where she was allegedly
raped, forcibly converted into Islam and married off without her
parents’ consent.
The conversion and marriage allegedly took place in the palace of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
On February 29, 2016, Ese was reportedly rescued by the Kano State
Police and placed in the custody of the government. She was later
revealed to be five months’ pregnant with her abductor’s child after
being released.
Charles told The PUNCH in an interview on Thursday that since all the
promises did not come to fruition, he had relocated Ese, her child and
other family members to their hometown in Ughelli, Delta State.
He recalled that three months after Ese was delivered of her baby, some
persons allegedly attempted to ‘steal’ the baby at the Police Officers’
Mess in Yenagoa where Ese and the baby were domiciled then.
Charles stated, “A lot of things have happened. As Ese was delivered of
her baby, three months after, some people attempted to steal the baby
but God helped us, they did not succeed.
“After that incident, I had to fight to take Ese and the baby from
there. So, we have taken them to Ughelli in Delta State. I am the only
one living in Yenagoa. As they left, I started making efforts to get the
scholarship the Bayelsa State Government promised Ese after giving
birth.
“Since she gave birth, the scholarship promised Ese has not
materialised in spite of all our efforts. The government asked one
official to look for a house for us. We were given a two-bedroomed flat
at Okaka in Yenagoa. But because of some issues, we have left the
apartment; even FIDA and the NGOs helping us appear to have backed out.”
Charles noted that when they got to their home in Delta, he personally
wrote letters to the Governor of Delta State for scholarship but he
replied that the government did not have provision for such.
He also lamented that the court proceedings had been stalled since
August 2017 when the trial Judge, Justice H.A. Nganjiwa, was transferred
to Abuja.
He explained, “Even the court matter is another funny aspect. We went to
court last in August 2017 before they took the trial judge to Abuja and
up till now, the judge has not come back. Because of the absence of the
judge, the matter has been stalled.
“When I tried to find out what was amiss, somebody in the court told me
that the trial might commence in 2018 but we do not know when that will
be.”
As for Yunusa, Charles said the suspect had been freed from Okaka Prison, Yenagoa and flown to his hometown in Kano State.
On whether Yunusa had been taking care of Ese’s baby, he retorted,
“God forbid! The baby is in our possession. We have been taking care
of the baby. He has not called anybody. Anyway, it is expected because
the child is not his.
“The child belongs to me. He did not pay any
bride price to anybody. We do not marry off our daughters like that in
Urhobo land. If you want to marry, you must seek the consent of the
parents to give you a wife.”
He added that Ese was well and kicking, stressing that she is now an SSS2 student in a school in Ughelli.
He said that it was the family that was responsible for the school fees
of Ese contrary to speculation that the government was footing her
education bill.
He added,
“ We pay for her school fees. Contrary to speculation, the government of
Delta State is not responsible for Ese’s fees. We sought their help but
they did not offer any. The school my wife took her to before, we were
not able to pay before one Good Samaritan assisted us in paying for two
terms.
“Anyway, by the grace of God, Ese’s schooling is going on
well. Someone is assisting us to offset the school fees. Since
September, the baby has been in our possession. I won’t like to give my
grandchild to anybody.”
