Children of nowadays. Or has she been brain-washed? Ese Oruru, who was allegedly kidnapped from Bayelsa State to Kano, Ese Oruru, said on Monday that she was not interested in reuniting with her family, denying reports that she was kidnapped from her home in Bayelsa by her lover.
In an audio recording on Monday, the girl also said she went on her own with her lover to Kano in order to convert to Islam.
Ese said: “My name is Aisha Chuwas. I am 17yrs old. I came here to be a Muslim and I will stay here."
The recording appeared a conversation between Miss Oruru and a police interrogator in Kano. A human rights lawyer, Huwaila Mohammed, who was given access to the girl at the Zonal Police Headquarters in Kano, said upon interrogation, she understood the girl was never forced to convert to Islam.
“I was there to protect her rights,” Ms. Mohammed said. “When I approached her initially, she refused to talk to me. Later she opened up to me.
“She is very defiant. She told me she was born in February 1999. I personally wanted her to reunite with her family, but surprisingly she asked me to tell her mother that she will never return to Bayelsa.
“The police should ensure that she is protected and returned to her family. She is still not matured enough to take such a weighty decision without parental consent.”
Ms. Mohammed, who also spoke with Miss Oruru’s lover, Yunusa Yellow, said upon interrogation, she got to know that he is 18-year-old and “not anywhere above 20”.
“I was surprised when I saw a very small boy. He is just 18-year old. I was enraged thinking that it was an old man involved in the saga. From the way I see it, they eloped not because of religion but love,” she said.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, said he was on top of the situation as he had spoken to his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, on the matter.
