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| Yunusa Dahiru |
The alleged abductor of
14-year-old Ese Oruru from Bayelsa,Yunusa Dahiru, aka Yellow, was on Tuesday
arraigned before a Federal High Court Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The
Punch report continues:
Yunusa
was arraigned on five counts bordering on abduction, coercion and seduction into
illicit intercourse and sexual exploitation.
The
victim was allegedly abducted from Bayelsa and taken to Kano by Yunusa, a
regular customer at her mother’s food stall in Bayelsa.
Ese’s
parents had claimed Yunusa forcefully converted their teenage daughter to Islam
and forced her into marriage, without their consent.
Yunusa
was arraigned before Justice H.A. Nganjiwa on a charge numbered
FHC/YNG/17c/2016, filed against him by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon
Arase.
The
charges read, “That you, Yunusa Dahiru ‘m’ of Opolo-Epie, with Dankano
Mohammed, ‘m’, Mallam Alhassan, ‘m’ currently at large, between the months of
August 2015 and February 2016 at Oplo-Epie in Yenagoa Judicial Division of the
Federal High Court did conspire among yourselves to commit an offence to wit:
Abduction and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 27 (a) of
the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act,
2015.
“That
you Yunusa Dahiru ‘m’ of Opolo-Epie between the months of August 2015 and
February 2016 at Opolo Epie, Yenegoa, in the Yenagoa Division of the Federal
High Court abducted one Rita Ese Oruru ‘f’ aged 14 years by means of coercion,
transported and harboured her in Kano State and thereby committed an offence
punishable under Section 13(2)(b) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition)
Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
“That
you, Yunusa Dahiru ‘m’ of Opolo-Epie, between the months of August 2015 and
February 2016 at Opolo-Epie, Yenagoa, in the Yenagoa Judicial Division of the
Federal High Court, induced one Rita Ese Oruru ‘f’ aged 14 years by the use of
deception and coercion to go with you from Yenagoa to Kano state with intent
that she be forced or seduced into illicit intercourse and thereby committed an
offence punishable under section 15 (a) of the Trafficking in Persons
(prohibition) Enforcement Administration Act, 2015.
“That
you, Yunusa Dahiru ‘m’ of Opolo-Epie, between the months of August 2015 and
February 2016 2016 at Opolo-Epie, Yenagoa in Yenagoa Judicial Division of the
Federal High Court procured one Rita Ese Oruru ‘f’ aged 14 years and subjected
her into sexual exploitation in Kano state and thereby committed an offence
punishable under section 16 (1) of the Trafficking in person (prohibition)
Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015.
“That
you, Yunusa ‘m’ of Opolo-Epie, between the months of August 1015 and February
2016 at OIpolo-Epie, Yenagoa in the Yenagoa Judicial Division of the Federal
High Court had unlawful carnal knowledge of one Rita Ede Oruru ‘f’ aged 14
years, without her consent and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section
357 of the Criminal Code Act and punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal
Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigerian, 2004.”
Yunusa
pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The
matter was adjourned till March 14 for the hearing of the bail application by
his Yunusa’s counsel, Kayode Olaosebikan.
Our
correspondent learnt that Yunusa has been remanded in Okaka Prison in Yenagoa
pending the hearing of his bail application.
Speaking
to journalists after the proceedings, Olasebikan said, “It is easy for the
prosecution to bring up chargs, but Yunusa, as a man, has pleaded not guilty
and it is left for the prosecution to prove their case beyond every reasonable
doubt.
“It
is a case of two lovebirds, in our social parlance we call it elopment,but
government and the state prefer to call it abduction and is left for the court
to decide whether it is abduction or elopement of two minors because Yunusa is
18 years old and the girl in question is 14 years old.”
The prosecuting counsel,
Kenneth Dika, however, said the state was ready to prove its case against the
accused person, with its six witnesses.
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