Stephanie Linus Speaks In Support Of Ese Oruru

In the wake of the abduction and release of 14 year-old Ese
Oruru, Nollywood star actress Stephanie Linus is raising her voice against
sexual abuse of the girl child.

Using the hashtags #EseOruru, #ChildNotBride and
#GirlChildEducation, the actress who has always had a strong voice advocating
for proper rights for the Girl Child recently sent out a series of tweets to
speak out for Ese.

She shared her views on her Twitter Page as well as on her
blog StephanieDaily.com. Below is what she wrote on her blog….

She Is Still A Child! #EseOruru

I’ve been keenly following Ese Oruru’s story on the news for
some time now and the turn of events is really shocking, I must say! Different
versions of her story keep creeping up in the news. It’s hard to know what to
believe anymore.

What I find most appalling is some people are blaming her
for her predicament. Blaming a 14 year-old girl! For what! She is still a
child!!

It’s even more sad that there are still lots of girls taken
from their parents care across the country and sexually abused everyday!

Kudos to Punch for bringing Ese’s story to the fore. There
are many more Ese’s out there who have been turned to s3x slaves as young
girls.

If we must learn anything from Ese’s story, it is that we
must put more efforts into protecting the girl child.

Ese is just a child. The conditions under which she was
abducted or left her parent’s home is not the issue. She is a minor who was abused.

Now she is bearing a child and her life has taken on a whole
new path.

She needs counselling and our prayers. But most of all, we
all have a collective responsibility to ensure this doesn’t repeat itself
again.

My prayers go out to Ese and her family. I pray they find
the strength to recover from this shocking experience.

I also pray for the young girls who were kidnapped from a
secondary school in Lagos. May they be found safely and reunited with their
families.

#EseOruru, #ChildNotBride, #GirlChildEducation