harles Oruru, the father of the then 13-year-old girl, Ese Oruru, who was abducted and taken to Kano where she was allegedly defiled, forcibly Islamised and married off without her parents’ consent, has cried out over government’s failed promises.

Charles said all the promises made by the governments of Bayelsa and Delta states with regard to Ese’s scholarship had not been fulfilled.

Ese was allegedly abducted on 12th August, 2015 at her mother’s shop in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State by a man named Yunusa Dahiru (alias Yellow) and taken to Kano.

She was rescued on February 29, 2016, by the Kano State Police and placed in the custody of the government.

It was later found out that she was five months’ pregnant with her abductor’s child.
Charles spoke with Punch on Thursday, saying,

“A lot of things have happened. As Ese was delivered of her baby, three months after, some people attempted to steal the baby but God helped us, they did not succeed.

“After that incident, I had to fight to take Ese and the baby from there. So, we have taken them to Ughelli in Delta State. I am the only one living in Yenagoa. As they left, I started making efforts to get the scholarship the Bayelsa State Government promised Ese after giving birth.

“Since she gave birth, the scholarship promised Ese has not materialised in spite of all our efforts. The government asked one official to look for a house for us . We were given a two – bedroomed flat at Okaka in Yenagoa . But because of some issues, we have left the apartment; even FIDA and the NGOs helping us appear to have backed out.

“Even the court matter is another funny aspect. We went to court last in August 2017 before they took the trial judge to Abuja and up till now, the judge has not come back. Because of the absence of the judge, the matter has been stalled.

“When I tried to find out what was amiss, somebody in the court told me that the trial might commence in 2018 but we do not know when that will be.”

As for Yunusa , Charles said the suspect had been freed from Okaka Prison , Yenagoa and flown to his hometown in Kano State.

On whether Yunusa had been taking care of Ese’s baby, he said,

“God forbid! The baby is in our possession . We have been taking care of the baby . He has not called anybody . Anyway, it is expected because the child is not his.

“The child belongs to me . He did not pay any bride price to anybody. We do not marry off our daughters like that in Urhobo land. If you want to marry, you must seek the consent of the parents to give you a wife.”

He added that Ese was well and kicking, stressing that she is now an SSS2 student in a school in Ughelli.

“We pay for her school fees. Contrary to speculation, the government of Delta State is not responsible for Ese’s fees. We sought their help but they did not offer any. The school my wife took her to before, we were not able to pay before one Good Samaritan assisted us in paying for two terms.

“Anyway, by the grace of God, Ese ’s schooling is going on well. Someone is assisting us to offset the school fees. Since September, the baby has been in our possession. I won’t like to give my grandchild to anybody.”