The news of a young teenage girl kidnapped by a guy and ferried to the North has been making trends in the papers and social media. One Ese was kidnapped by a man and forced into marriage. Her religion was forcefully converted to Muslim. The authorities weren’t able to do anything for a long while while Nigerians complain of how lawless Nigeria has turned to.. Ade Olawale, an author and a blogwriter, writes on an article on the tale of this young girl which proves how lawless Nigeria is.



A calamitous crime story unfolded recently before a bewildered country. But for the pain of a loving mother and her family, it would have looked more like one of those numerous Nollywood movies. Unfortunate this is real! The conveying and kidnapping of this young girl of 4 years from her home in Opobo in Bayelsa state to very far North, Kano state by a pedophile and pervert, seemingly for marriage and religious conversion, is a monstrous and atrocious crime which must be punished severely.

This Ese abduction saga reminds me of the level of impunity in our country Nigeria. It reminds me of the negligence and recklessness of our officials, in whom we put our trust and lives in their hands and care. It reminds me of the callousness that occurs in this country and of the oppression the weak and low-classed masses in Nigerians suffer, not able to speak and have a voice of their own. The facts of the case reveal the intolerable neglect in handling of the case by the police, the Bayelsa state governor whom should have been the one clamoring for her release, and other government officials.

The report had come like a funny rumor. One Yinusa, a commercial keke driver had on August 12, 2015 kidnapped one Ese Oruru from her mother’s shop and had ferried her all the way from Bayelsa to Kano state. This same Yinusa was one of Ese’s mother’s regular customer, a customer Ese’s mother must have prayed every day for, wished him good, prayed for his business to go well. How had he responded to all these well wishes? He had kidnapped the daughter of the woman when she was not around and had travelled with her to Kano state beyond her wish.

This case of minor abduction should have been responded with a swift respond of the officials who should have ransacked the whole of Kano state and fished out the captor of this young girl. The case shouldn’t have lasted this long; it should have been solved and concluded highest three days after the report had gotten to them. The accomplice and his colleagues should have been arrested immediately and by now the courts should have already sentenced them to years in prison. Instead what did we see, impunity in the highest and lowest levels.

Unfortunately, the district head in the Kano emirate and the Sharia Council had not only turned their eyes away to what the pedophile did, but also applauded him and commended what he did. They apparently made it difficult for the girl’s parents to retrieve her because according to them, she was now a Muslim and was one of them now.

I don’t see the difference between this case and the case of the Chibok girls that were kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect who were converted to Muslims and forced into marriage. Just like the Chibok girls, the security personnel failed to do their job and get Ese early. It makes me wonder, are all Muslims the same thing? Why force someone into your religion and force the person to get married to you?

All these suggest that Nigeria is a callous country, heading to nowhere but peril. Emir Sanusi, who one would have thought with him being an educated man and the Emir of Kano would make the release of the girl easier, however, has disappointed many of us. Given his antecedents—a former Central Bank of Nigeria governor and a respected Nigerian whose view on issues are highly respected for his role in disproving lawlessness—we were disappointed at the manner he allowed his royal office into this glaring perfidy. For one, he allowed his royal home to be brought into the mess of this case. Though he claimed he has ordered her release since last year and was surprised she was still around, Sanusi should have followed the case bumper-to-bumper since it was an unusual case. But no, he was nonchalant on it. It wasn’t his daughter; she was now a Muslim and of course why wouldn’t have loved that. But he forgot she was someone else’s daughter. Sanusi failed as a leader and is unacceptably a disgrace to educated royal monarchs. But what would one have expected from a man who himself marries young girls and approves of the marriage of his people to young girls.

The adverse effects are there. One, a chunk in Ese’s life has been lost. Though it’s been just eight months, Ese has lost a lot. It would take time getting use to her family. It would take consultations and psychological test before the real Ese can come back to herself. It would take a lot of test to confirm Ese has gotten no form of illness or STDs from her captor, who of course must have forcefully had canal knowledge of her. It would take a lot of consultations before Ese can forget all those periled days in the hand of her captors.

This is an offense that attracts imprisonment, according to the Criminal Code Act, The Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. It states, “Any person who unlawfully takes an unmarried girl under the age of sixteen years out of the custody or protection of her mother and against the will of her father or mother is guilty of misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for two years.” But of course, that is just one charge apart from rape and forceful conversion of religion.

Ese’s case is not new in Nigeria. Many suffer different level of lawlessness in Nigeria. I recall a statement meant by a serving senator, Ahmed Sani, who allegedly married a 15-year-old Egyptian in 2010: “I don’t care about the issue of age since I’ve not violated any rule as far as Islam is concerned. I will not respect any law that contradicts it…” Are there now two laws in Nigeria?

President Buhari should call a probe into this matter. The captors and those guilty in this act should be arrested. The officials should be investigated to see if anyone helped Yinusa in his abduction or in concealing it, because of course, he must have someone high protecting him. The Emir of Kano should also be investigated to see if he helped in this crime and if found guilty stripped of his position and sent to jail. This would be a step toward fighting corruption, if at all Buhari is still in his agenda. If not, it would only prove Nigeria is a lawless city in turmoil and even Buhari cannot save this country from corruption.

Disclaimer: This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of 9jabuzz or its editors. Your own opinion articles, feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments are welcome at 9jabuzzblog@gmail.com.

Source: http://9jabuzz.com.ng/opinion-ese%E2%80%95-a-tale-of-impunity-sanusi%E2%80%95a-disgrace-to-educated-monarchs-by-ade-olawale/

The people from that part of the country will soon cum for your head, just be prepared..

BeeBeeOoh:
The people from that part of the country will soon cum for your head, just be prepared..

no we won't come for his head. Every sane person know dt what Yunus did was very wrong. My question is why blaming Emir Sanusi?,didn't He order d released of the little girl when his attention was call?. It's a free world my dear,anyone can write what so ever he/she wants.

mynd1:
no we won't come for his head. Every sane person know dt what Yunus did was very wrong. My question is why blaming Emir Sanusi?,didn't He order d released of the little girl when his attention was call?. It's a free world my dear,anyone can write what so ever he/she wants.

Thank God Op is safe, I blame the IGP for sitting on his brain while talking..

mynd1:
no we won't come for his head. Every sane person know dt what Yunus did was very wrong. My question is why blaming Emir Sanusi?,didn't He order d released of the little girl when his attention was call?. It's a free world my dear,anyone can write what so ever he/she wants.

Read well on our disclaimer. You would see that we wrote whatever is written there does not represent our opinion but that of the writer. As a website dedicated to Nigerians, we collect and edit over ten articles daily, sometimes more. People send their opinions which we edit and publish and reference the writers. So it may not necessarily be our opinion but that of the freelance writer.

Thank you.
Opinion Editor
www.9jabuzz.com.ng

When a people place cannon laws above common law.

Shekarau and Ese's abductors are same. Yerima too.