We Have Been Neglected, Ese Oruru’s Parents Voice Out

The parents of Ese Oruru, the 14-year-old minor, who was allegedly abducted in Bayelsa State in August  2015 and taken to Kano where she was forced into a marriage and converted into Islam have lamented that they have been abandoned.

Her mother, Rose, said apart from the initial assistance from the Bayelsa State Government when she (Ese) arrived from Kano earlier in the year, the victim had been abandoned.

She said Ese’s continued survival and that of her four-month-old baby was being threatened due to the family’s inability to adequately cater for their needs.

She lamented that it was ironical that while the accused was enjoying freedom on bail, the victim was being denied freedom under the guise of protection.

She insisted that the conditions that Ese and her baby were kept were not conducive for the welfare of the mother and the baby.

Rose said her daughter was not properly taken care of as someone nursing a baby with regard to nutrition and psychological care in a homely environment.

She stated, “People from Bayelsa have been assisting us and even the police officers. We want to leave there for our house because the place (Police Officers Mess) is not a good place to stay and bring up a newborn baby.

“We are just abandoned in a room that we are not even allowed to go out. We stay with our trash bin which is smelling. We and the new born baby are compelled to breathe the offensive smell.

“So the world should note that we are being marginalised for no reason, as the boy, Yunusa, is still owing me some money after taking my daughter to Kano to impregnate her for me.”

Ese’s father, Mr. Charles Oruru, expressed sadness over his daughter’s continued stay at the mess with her newborn.

Oruru said Ese was supposed to be in school, stressing that all her mates were now ahead of her.

Oruru said, “My daughter has been yearning and even crying to go back to school as her classmates are now ahead of her. She (Ese) has lost a whole year to this saga and she is still in the police protective custody while the accused is enjoying freedom on bail

“I am begging the Delta State Government, the Federal Government and the world at large to come to our aid.

“Nowadays, without education, one is going nowhere, so she is not doing anything in their custody. While the accused move freely, she is suffering there.

“I call on the Delta government  to assist us because I have five children, of which Ese is the second to the last child, so my state should come to my family’s aid.”