Nigerians have expressed outrage over
the alleged abduction of 14-year-old Ese Oruru by one Yinusa, aka
Yellow, who also forced her into marriage. Nigerians, who read the story of the helpless minor on The PUNCH’s website on Sunday, took a swipe at the inactions of the authorities, saying the girl was abandoned to wallow in captivity.
Yinusa, a tricycle driver, took away the
minor to Kano on August 12, 2015, from her mother’s shop in Opolo
Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. The mother, Mrs. Rose
Oruru, had gone out on the day leaving Ese and her siblings in the shop.
Yinusa seized the girl in her absence. Rose’s attempts to seek the
release of the girl at the Emir of Kano’s (Sanusi Lamido’s) palace,
where she was reportedly kept met a stiff resistance.
An online reader, who identified himself
only as Seagols, wrote, “I feel so ashamed of the Bayelsa State Police
Command for saying it’s not abduction, but elopement of a 13-year-old?
Shame on the Bayelsa State Government, which can’t stand for the rights
of its citizen. Shame on the Emir of Kano, who allowed such injustice.
Finally, how could a guy who sold his keke in Bayelsa be this
powerful? Just that the police are already biased. More will unfold if
only the police were to do their job.”
A commentator, Edward Owens, expressed
worry and wondered, “Why is the IG of police and the National Assembly
silent on this issue? It is taking too long. Why is the presidency
silent on this?”
The National Agency for the Prohibition
of Trafficking in Persons and other related offences has said it will
intervene in the alleged child marriage case of 14-year-old Ese Oruru if
trafficking is confirmed.
The Head, Press and Public Relations of
NAPTIP, Josiah Emerole, said the act, the means and the purpose of the
abduction would show if it was trafficking.
He said, “First of all, I do not have
details of this incident as of this moment. But one fact is that the
issue of child marriage is always captured under the Child Rights’ Act
and the Child Rights’ Law of each state. It is not necessarily within
the laws of NAPTIP.
“Under the Child Rights’ Act, getting
married to an underage child is a criminal offence which the police and
the ministries of youths’ development can handle.
“Yes, NAPTIP can move in if the facts
say it is trafficking. In trafficking, there are things to prove. It is
not enough to say somebody has taken my child from a place to another
place. There is what we call the act. Then, there is the means and there
is the purpose. These three things must be proved before we can
establish trafficking.
“But as of now, we are not aware of the
incident. When it is reported and we discover the matter is not our area
of investigation, we use matter referral mechanism to take it to the
appropriate quarters.”
No comments:
Post a Comment