Barely six months after Ese Oruru was rescued and reunited with her loved ones, her parents have raised the alarm over threats to their lives, alleging that there were underground plans to steal Ese’s child.
The 14-year-old girl and native of Delta State but resident in Bayelsa state, was allegedly abducted on August 12, 2015 and taken from Yenagoa to Kano where she was converted to Islam and married by her abductor, Yunusa Dahiru, aka Yellow.
However, when Ese was rescued and returned to Yenagoa in March, police authorities discovered she was five months pregnant.
The teenager delivered of a child in May and her parents have raised the alarm that there have been persistent threats by some people to take away the three-month-old baby girl.
Speaking with the Punch, Ese’s mother, Rose, said, “Towards the end of July, a man traced us from the court to the Police Officers’ Mess in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State capital). We later overheard him talking in Hausa language to someone on the telephone that he had located the place where Ese and her baby were staying.
“He said that they don’t want the baby to grow up with ‘these people,’ meaning us. My daughter ran to us when she heard that. I later sent my son to buy sachet water and he told us when he returned that he also saw the same man standing outside.
“I later saw this same man walking back and forth outside the officers’ mess, and he was still talking on the phone. His movements were suspicious. Since then, we have been living in fear.
“The same man was with Ese’s alleged abductor, in the court premises during one of the proceedings, wearing a red cap.
“Just recently one of my children was assaulted recently while on a commercial motorcycle by some unknown persons. The men sounded like they were Hausas; they asked her if she was going to the house the ‘government had paid for them.’ I didn’t know how they knew that.
“Before my daughter could rush into a tricycle, these men forcefully took away some of her belongings and the food she was bringing for Ese and the baby.
“We have reported the separate incidents to the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, who then ordered that the security around the Officer’s Mess be beefed up.
“The number of police officers guarding our premises has since reduced, that is why I am even more afraid now.
Ese’s father, Charles, on his part, said “With this incident, I am afraid anything can happen, and I don’t want any of my daughters to be kidnapped again.”
The Executive Director, Kindling Hope Across Nations Initiative, KHAN, Mr. Kizito Andah, has urged the police to act on the allegation.
It would be recalled that KHAN Initiative had taken on Ese Oruru’s case and advocated for her release after they had been informed by a neighbour.
But when contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat, told reporters he had not received any report of threats to the family.
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