The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase insisted that the abductor of the 14-year-old Ese Oruru, identified as Yinusa (a.k.a Yellow) would be prosecuted despite claims by his father that his son has not committed any crime.
Arase spoke at a one-day awareness workshop on sexual and gender-based violence in Nigeria, organised by the Nigeria Police, in collaboration with Cleen Foundation and Ford Foundation in Benin, the Edo State capital.
Ese was abducted in Bayelsa State and taken to Kano in August 2015 by Yinusa, where he converted her to Islam and forcefully married her without the consent of her parents.
The father of the suspect, identified as Alhaji Dairu Bala, had reportedly said at his Tofa home in Kuru Local Council of Kano State that his son followed “his heart” when the teenage girl “fell in love” with him and “followed him.”
But speaking through the Gender Officer, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Mrs. Mairo Adebalogun, Arase noted that Bala’s claim of innocence was irrelevant, insisting that Yinusa would be prosecuted, adding that his father’s defense could not stand the test of law. “It does not. The father is not the person in the picture of this issue right now; it is his son. The police are going to investigate and if they find him wanting, they will prosecute him.”
Also, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 1, Kano, Shuaibu Gambo, said the abductor of Oruru would be prosecuted.
Gambo, who gave the assurance while addressing a news conference in Kano yesterday, said the abductor of the girl, Yunusa, must face the full wrath of the law in order to serve as deterrent to others who might contemplate committing the same offence.
“The action of Yunusa is a criminal offence. So, he must be prosecuted in accordance with the law of the land,” he said. He said all those who played any role in the mishandling of the case would also be prosecuted as the IG had already ordered a full-scale investigation into the matter.
Photo credit: premium Times
