Amid growing outrage, the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi, yesterday ordered that Ese Oruru who was kidnapped to Kano State from Bayelsa State as a child-bride be returned to her parents .
Sanusi ordered the Kano State Sharia Commission to liaise with the office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1 to commence the process of returning the girl allegedly abducted by one Yunusa of Kura Local Government of the state.
An indication that the girl would be released emerged yesterday when the planned protest march to the Bayelsa Government House and the House of Assembly by the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) was put on hold.
The CLO, in a statement after an emergency meeting on Sunday, had indicted the emir and the Kano Emirate Council for allegedly harboring the abducted teenager.
The CLO condemned the action and called on the Federal Government and the international community to probe and help release the abducted teenager.
In a swift reaction, the emir of Kano denied the allegation, describing the story as mischievous and baseless.
The action of the emir has halted any planned protest for now as Sanusi, in his official reaction, distanced himself and the Kano Emirate Council from the purported abduction of Ese Oruru by her suspected lover.
He said: “Since August last year, the District Head of Kura came to the palace with a young girl of about 15 years, alongside somebody from the area, whom we were told was married to him after she was converted to Islam.
“I ordered her immediate repatriation to her parents who were said to be in Bayelsa State. I ordered the Kano State Shariah Commission to liaise with the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone 1 to assist in taking her back to her parents in Bayelsa.”
“In Islam, she has no right to just go ahead and decide things for herself. She is still young. She is not mature enough. And there is nowhere in Islam where such young girls can just make up their mind and give their hands in marriage just like that. It is not permitted in Islam. That is why we said she must be taken back to her parents, “ Sanusi explained.
“I am therefore giving an order that an investigation should immediately commence with the AIG office to know the position of things since that time we ordered her repatriation to her parents.”
The emir called on the said “husband” of the young girl to exercise more patience and wait till when she reaches the age of 18 years before he could ask for her hand in marriage.
He urged stakeholders not to portray themselves as being holier in religious matters like this. “We cannot in anyway be more Muslims than the Prophet of Islam Muhammad. We must therefore, do things according to the set rules and regulations governing our religion,” he advised.
No comments:
Post a Comment