‘Abducted’ Bayelsa Girl Speaks Out, Says I Want To Remain With My Lover

A teenager, who was kidnapped from Bayelsa State to Kano,
Ese Oruru, said on Monday she was not interested in reuniting with her family,
claiming she was not abducted from her home.

In an exclusive audio recording obtained by Premium Times yesterday,
the girl also said she came to Kano to convert to Islam.

“My name is Aisha Chuwas. I am 17-year-old. I came here to
be a Muslim and I will stay here,” she said in the audio. The recording
appeared a conversation between Miss Oruru and a police interrogator in Kano.

A human rights lawyer, Huwaila Mohammed, who was given
access to the girl at the Zonal Police Headquarters in Kano, said upon
interrogation, she understood the girl was never forced to convert to Islam.

“I was there to protect her rights,” Ms. Mohammed said.
“When I approached her initially, she refused to talk to me. Later she opened
up to me.

“She is very defiant. She told me she was born in February
1999. I personally wanted her to reunite with her family, but surprisingly she
asked me to tell her mother that she will never return to Bayelsa.

“The police should ensure that she is protected and returned
to her family. She is still not matured enough to take such a weighty decision
without parental consent.”

Ms. Mohammed, who also spoke with Miss Oruru’s lover, Yunusa
Yellow, said upon interrogation, she established that he is an 18-year-old man
“not anywhere above 20”.

“I was surprised when I saw a very small boy. He is just
18-year old. I was enraged thinking that it was an old man involved in the
saga. From the way I see it, they eloped not because of religion but love,” she
said.

But Miss Oruru is a minor, and under Nigerian law, she is
not considered matured enough to take a decision to convert to another religion
and leave her parents.

In his reaction, the emir of Kano denied reports that he was
holding Miss Oruru. The emir said on Monday that since September last year, the
emirate council handed her over to AIG Zone 1, Tambari Yabo, for onward
transportation to her family in Bayelsa.

He said the district head of Kura brought the case to the
palace when Mr. Yunusa presented Ms. Oruru to the district office, seeking
approval to marry her.

The emir’s Chief of Staff, Munir Sanusi, further shed lights
on the matter, saying the emir ordered that she be return to her family as she
was too young to take such decision.

It was also learnt that Miss Oruru’s “kidnapper” has been
arrested and is being detained at the Zone 1 Police Headquarters, Kano.

Premium Times