#JusticeForEse: I helped Yunusa, but he betrayed me, says Ese’s mother

The mother of 14-year-old Ese Oruru, Mrs. Rose Oruru, has said Yunusa Dahiru, aka Yellow, betrayed her and her family by abducting her teenage daughter from Bayelsa.

Ese was abducted by Yunusa, in August 2015.

The teenagee was forced to convert to Islam and forced into marriage with Yunusa.

Ese was reunited with her family this week following a massive campaign by PUNCH newspaper, which generated national outrage and forced the authorities to ensure she was taken from Kano and reunited with her family.

Rose dismissed the claim by Yunusa’s father that the abductor had stayed with the Orurus for 10 years as a house help.

The teenager’s mother said they only got to know Yunusa at about 2012.

Our correspondent gathered that this was the period Yinusa came to the Opolo area, where the residence of the Orurus was located.

It was gathered that Yunusa usually helped people carry their loads from the market.

That was how the Orurus got to know him.

Rose also said sometime in 2012, the family decided to help him with somewhere to sleep at night.

Before then, our correspondent gathered that Yunusa usually slept in different places in the area, including churches.

She said, “Yunusa was one of the Hausa people in the area, and he used to come to my shop to buy food, and sometimes when he did not have money, we would sell to him on credit or give him food for free.

“When we discovered that he needed a place to lay his head at night, I decided to help him by allowing him to pass the night in the shop, but not to live there.

“We did not know he would turn against us and kidnap our daughter. Yunusa betrayed me and my family, despite how we helped him.”

Rose described him as someone who was known to people around the area because he was friendly .

She said he sold firewood for some time until someone in the area gave him a tricycle to ride.

“I remember that he behaved like a good person; people in our area knew him very well. Nobody would have thought he could do such a thing,” she added.

According to Rose, Yunusa was asked to stop coming to sleep in her shop in 2013 after some items got missing in the shop.

Rose said items such as rice and bottles of soft drinks disapperared.

She said, “That was when I became suspicious. Since I could not prove it, I just asked him to stop coming to the shop to pass the night. This was in late 2012 or early 2013.

“I had to start locking the fridge and my cupboard. Why would I do that if I had trusted him?”

She said people who said Ese willingly travelled to Kano with him did not know Yunusas history.

She recalled that a few weeks after she asked Yunusa to stop coming to sleep in her shop, her shop was burgled.

She said she lost valuables, including food items and a big television set that came with a DVD player.

“That television set was even bigger than the one currently in my shop. We do not want to lay blame on anyone because we could not say that this was the person that did it,” she added.

She said a year later, Yunusa started coming to the shop to buy food.

She said, “He came one day to beg me to forgive him. I then told him that I did not hold anything against him that I had forgiven him.

“But how could I have known that he was planning to do something bad to my daughter?

“I know my daughter, Ese, she would never have done such a thing with someone like Yunusa. She did not go to Kano with him on her own accord.”

Medical report not for the public

The police have said the report of the medical examination carried out on Ese Oruru will not be made public.

The Force stated that the medical report was confidential and not for public consumption.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, who said this in response to an inquiry from our correspondent on Thursday, explained that the report was not ready yet.

According to her, the police will respect Ese’s privacy and will not disclose the result of the medical examination.

She added that the report would be given to investigators to assist them in their work.

“When Ese’s medical is ready, it will be handed over to the investigators and it will not be made public by the police as we respect the privacy of the girl-child (Ese),” Kolawole said.

The police had earlier said it had carried out various medical tests on the teenager, whose rescue from forced marriage and conversion to Islam, was championed by PUNCH newspapers.

It was learnt that the police had carried out different tests on Ese, including pregnancy and HIV/AIDS tests.

On Ese’s abductor, Yunusa Dahiru, the police spokesperson said he had been transfered to Bayelsa State, where he would be tried for his crime.

“Yunusa is already in Bayelsa,” Kolawole said.

Claim of innocence irrelevant

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has dismissed the claim by the father of Yunusa Dahiru, who abducted Ese, that his son had not committed any crime.

Arase stated this on Thursday during a one-day awareness workshop on sexual and gender based violence in Nigeria, organised by the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with Cleen Foundation and Ford Foundation in Benin, the Edo State capital.

Ese was taken to Kano from Bayelsa in August 2015 by Yunusa, where he converted her to Islam and forcefully married her without the consent of her parents.

She was, however, released on February 29.

The father of the suspect, Alhaji Dairu Bala, had reportedly said at his Tofa home in the Kuru Local Government Area of Kano State that his son followed “his heart” when the teenage girl “fell in love” with him and “followed him.”

But Arase, who spoke through the Gender Officer, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Mrs. Mairo Adebalogun, noted that Bala’s claim of innocence was irrelevant, adding that Yunusa would be prosecuted.

Arase said, “The father is not the person in the picture of this issue; it is his son. The police are going to investigate and if they find him wanting, they will prosecute him.”

PSC to dismiss indicted police officers

The Police Service Commission has said it will dismiss from service, any police officer found culpable in the abduction of Ese Oruru.

The commission said it was waiting for the report of the ongoing investigation of some police officers involved in the case, as directed by the Inspector-General of Police.

A statement by the PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, on Thursday in Abuja said the commission “will ensure that any police officer who is found to have compromised himself either by omission or commission in the saga will be flushed out.”

It commended the IG “for his swift action in rescuing the teenager and ensuring that she was immediately reunited with her family,” adding that it would work with Arase to see that Nigerians, including the likes of Ese were guaranteed their freedom to life.

My daughter was raped

The father of Ese Oruru says their underage daughter was raped by Yunusa.

Charles Orurus, in an interview on the rumoured pregnancy of the minor, said his daughter had been forced to convert to Islam and into a child marriage without their consent.

Charles said, “My daughter was raped by that man. I saw the sign when I saw her last night. We are glad that stage one is over. I am happy she has been finally released and I have seen her, but I am sad. Now we will have to face whatever comes next.”

He, however, said the family would hold a meeting in the next few days to take a collective decision on the matter.

H also told our correspondent that he would meet with the police, lawyers, and other concerned persons on the issue.

Ese’s mum, Rose, however, said she could not say for certain that Ese was pregnant, adding that medical tests would confirm her suspicion.

The teenager’s mother also said Ese did not know she was in Kano State until after some time.

“It was like she had been hypnotised,” she said.

When asked what she would do if her daughter was indeed pregnant.

“Until then,” she said.

Dickson orders trial of abductors

The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has called for a comprehensive investigation into Ese’s abduction and subsequent prosecution of the culprits.

A statement by the state government on Thursday said the governor spoke in Yenagoa, shortly after receiving Ese and her parents in the Government House.

While describing the incident as unfortunate, Dickson directed the Ministry of Justice to collaborate effectively with the police towards ensuring that Ese’s abduction was prosecuted to a logical conclusion.

Dickson, who described Ese as a minor, wondered why it took so long to secure her release, adding that, there were questions begging for answers.

The governor was quoted as saying, “This matter has to do with enforcement of the laws of this state. This matter is not religious; It is not a matter that has to be swept under the carpet.

“I have directed the Ministry of Justice to collaborate with the police to ensure that this matter is prosecuted to a logical conclusion.”

The governor directed that a team of medical personnel and counsellors be set up to liaise with Ese and her parents to offer support to reintegrate Ese to the society.

-PUNCH