Forced Marriage Of Girl, 13 To Kano Muslim That Enraged The World

.Yinusa and Ese

The world was literally enraged when, when on August 12, it was hit with the news that One Mohammed Yunusa Dahiru (aka Daidi) from Kano has eloped with 13 year old  girl, Efe Oruru with an intention of marrying her.

from Ughelli North, Delta State, her family lived in Opolo, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, where her mother Mrs. Oruru operated her food vending business.

The  distraught woman, and her husband, began desperate moves to, not only locate the girl, but forestall every other intention of joining in whatsoever marriage to a man they never knew.

On August 14, the anguished mother set for Kano. She and one Rabiu arrived at the ancient city after midnight. In the morning, Rabiu took Oruru to the chief of a village in Tufa, Kura Local Government Area of Kano State.

The Orurus, in a bid not to leave any stone unturned, took the matter to non-governmental organisations, Kindling Hope Across Nations Initiative and Child Protection Network under the auspices of the UNICEF.

The NGO equally formally informing the Department of State Services.

He said several meetings were held in December 2015 with officers of the DSS, with the state security outfit making several promises to secure the release of the victim

Various leaders, public figures and youth groups condemned Dahiru’s actions. Human rights lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa, called the incident a “clear case of child trafficking” and “a worse form of corruption.”

Kano State government, through its Information, Youths and Sports Commissioner, Malam Garba, denied any involvement and demanded the culprit be prosecuted since the Constitution and Islamic teaching abhor abduction and forced marriage.

Ese Rita Oruru was born on 22 February 2002 to parents Charles and Rose Oruru and has three siblings, a sister Patricia and two brothers, Onome and Kevin.

Oruru was a JSS 3 student at Opolo Community Secondary School, with dreams to become a nurse.

Yunusa Dahiru, a tricycle operator and member of the Hausa tribe was the fellow who kidnapped Ese on the night of 12 August 2015,while her parents had gone out.

Dahiru thereafter transported Oruru to Kano State, and to the Emir’s palace, where he lied to traditional leaders in Kano that the teenager willingly followed him.

Oruru was forcibly converted to Islam, renamed “Aisha” and married off to Dahiru without her parent’s permission. The whereabouts of the two were revealed the next day. On 14 August 2015, Mrs. Rose Oruru journeyed to Tufa village in Kura local government area.

The minister of women affairs, Hajiya Aisha Al-Hassan, who condemned the abduction and forced marriage vowed that all those implicated in the incident would be dealt with.

The Bayelsa State caucus in the House of Representatives equally condemned the act, calling for the enforcement of the Child Rights Act (CRA) in the persecution of Yinusa.

The caucus leader, Hon. Diri Nonye speaking on behalf of the caucus called on the government to ensure that justice was served in the case which has attracted nationwide condemnation.

WE condemn the abduction of Ese Oruru from her mother’s shop and we are worried about the role played by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the Sharia Customary Court, Kano.

The kidnap of Ese in Bayelsa and forcefully taken into marriage by Yunusa is in complete violation of the Child Rights Act of Nigeria and even, a violation of Islamic religion teachings as whatever marriage Yunusa and his cohorts claimed did not get the approval of the parents of Ese as she was still a minor as at the time of the crime.

The Nigerian Observer in its editorial of March 3, 2016 roundly condemned the kidnap, adding: “we are shocked that this kind of incident could occur when the nation is still grappling with the activities of Boko Haram insurgency which modus operandi isn’t different from the action of Yunusa typified in forcible marriages.

It is sad that this incident has occurred at a time when the Federal Government is battling to root Boko Haram insurgents out of the North East where over 261 young school girls were abducted from Chibok and have been missing since two years.

WE are surprised at the dilly dally position of the police and DSS in the country over the matter until it was exposed by the media.

It goes to show that the high and mighty in Nigeria still perpetrate crime with impunity while the poor, vulnerable members of the society do not sufficiently enjoy the protection of law enforcement agents.

WE out rightly condemn the role played by the Emir of Kano as the prime suspect in the abduction saga and the innocent Ese were being housed in his palace according to reports.

It equally mean that there could be more Eses under abduction in the palace of the Emir of Kano.

It is against this backdrop that we call on President Muhammadu Buhari and all the security agencies as well as the International Criminal Court to thoroughly investigate the activities of the Emir of Kano as raised in this issue forceful abduction which suggests that more persons who do not have the voice or skills of the Orurus could be going on in the palace”.