•Abducted teenager arrives Abuja, to be handed over to parents today

…Suspect’s action condemnable –Kano

From Molly Kilete. Abuja & Desmond Mgboh, Kano

Some top police officers may be sanctioned for alleged negligence or dereliction of duty in the abduction of a teenager, Rita Eseoghene Oruru, who was forced into marriage and Islam. She was abducted by one Yinusa (aka Yellow), who operated commercial tricycle in Bayelsa State.

She was rescued by the Kano State Police command on Monday after her abduction on August 12, 2015. One of them, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) may land in trouble for being negligent according to police investigation obtained by Daily Sun. 

The case which had been on for sometime now, only got to the attention of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, last Saturday, after the Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, called his attention to the matter.

A top security source who does not want to be mentioned, said the IGP had initially doubted the report, but asked the minister to give him time to confirm the incident.

Sources said Arase immediately contacted the Kano command, only to be told the story was true. An angry Arase ordered the command that the girl be released and brought to the police Force Headquarters in Abuja.

This, the IGP was said to have done to ensure that there was no longer delay in the matter.

Daily Sun gathered that while police investigation indeed revealed that the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had actually intervened in the matter when it was first reported to him, urging the AIG to return the girl to her parents in Bayelsa.

The action of the AIG who has put in over 30 years in service, showed some partisanship.

Ese, in company of about six police officers arrived in  Abuja yesterday morning and taken to the Child Trafficking Unit in the Force Headquarters.

Thereafter, she was taken to the police hospital in Area One, Garki, for thorough medical check-up, the result of which could not be obtained by Daily Sun at Press time.

Upon their return from the hospital, Ese, who was clad in hijab, was taken to room 7D-052, on the seventh floor at the Force Headquarters where she along the police personnel that brought her from Kano, stayed.

However at about 4pm, the officers accompanied Ese to the office of the IGP, and shielded her from photographers who kept vigil at the Force Headquarters.

After the visit to the IGP’s office, she was taken back to the same room where she was kept.

As at Press time, policemen and journalists were waiting for the arrival of the parents, Mr and Mrs Oruru, who police say are already on their way from Bayelsa State to Abuja.

The Louis Edet House was invaded by journalists and other members of the public who trooped into the headquarters to catch a glimpse of the abductee and her parents.

All the parking lots at the Force Headquarters were filled to capacity, forcing motorists who could not get a space to park outside.

Already, the police headquarters is said to have sent a report on the matter to President Muhammadu Buhari, who Daily Sun learnt, is also interested in the matter.

Meanwhile, the AIG in charge of Zone 1, Shuaibu Gambo, said Yinusa, the alleged abductor, would be charged to court to face criminal charges.

Yinusa and Miss Oruru were transported to the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja on yesterday.

“She would be handed over to police commissioner in charge of Bayelsa State, who in return will hand her to her family,” he said.

Meanwhile, after several hours of waiting for the arrival of Ese’s parents, the police yesterday postponed her hand-over to her parents today.

The postponement was due to the late arrival of Mr and Mrs Oruru, who travelled by road to Abuja.

As at Press time last night, the parents who were in contact with the police were said to have be at Abaji which is in Abaji Area Council, about two hours drive from Abuja, without the usual traffic gridlock.

In a related development, the Kano State Government has condemned Ese’s abduction, saying it’s illegal and un-Islamic.

A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports and Culture, Mallam Mohammad Garba, said Islam  abhors abduction, forced marriage in any ramifications as well as  forced conversion to Islam, adding that the Quran is clear on the fact that ‘there is no compulsion in religion.

“While exonerating itself of any wrong doing and complicity in the matter, the government stressed that,”it has no prior knowledge of the issue before it became public; it has no connection whatsoever with the suspected culprit; it has never condoned such actions and will never do so now or in the future,” he said.