"I don't know how I left home " - Ese Oruru

Ese Oruru, the 14-year-old teenager abducted from Bayelsa State and taken to Kano by one Yunusa, said it was only after she got to Kano and saw that the people and the environment were strange that she realised she was no longer at home in Bayelsa.

The teenager in an interview with the Sun News Online, opens up on what exactly transpired and how she met Yunusa.

On how she met Yunusa aka Yellow, the teenager said, “We sell food in Bayelsa; so they (Yellow and his friends), used to come and buy food from us.”

Ese said Yunusa came to Bayelsa to hustle (look for money).

She debunked claims that Yellow is her boyfriend saying, “No, he is not my boyfriend. Like I told you, we sell food in Bayelsa, and so, he used to come and buy food from us. He is not the only one; they are many and I used to play with all of them like my own brothers because they buy food from us. I sell food to them just like that.”

When asked if she could remember the day Yellow took her from Bayelsa to Kano or how it all happened, she said “I don’t know. He didn’t tell me I was travelling to Kano.

She said they did not travel to Kano in Yellow’s tricycle (Keke Napep); according to her, “his keke is at home.

“He didn’t come to the house to carry me and how I travelled to Kano? I don’t know,” she said, “I just followed him. I don’t know how I followed him.”

Ese was told people believed she decided to run away with her abductor because she loved him and wanted to marry him at all cost but she feigned innocence saying, “I know that we used to play with all of them, our customers that come to buy food from our shop. There is nobody that is different. I sell food to all of them and I laugh with all of them. I don’t have anything special with any of them.”

On how she knew she was in Kano since she claims she didn’t know how she got there, Ese said, “I saw that the place was different and the people there are people that I didn’t know.

“So, I knew it was his place because I did not know anybody there, but only him. We went to their house first.

“I knew I was in a strange land but I did not do anything. I did not ask or tell him anything,” she quipped.

“We travelled to Kura the next day with one man like that. He is the chief of the town.

“When we got there, they took me to one place and there they gave me hijab; they put it on me. And after that, they took me to one house in Kura. And from there on Monday, in the morning, we went back to the Emir’s Palace in Kano; then in the afternoon, we travelled back to Kura, to stay in the house.”

When asked what they all went to do at the Emir’s Palace, Ese noted, “At the Emir’s Palace, they were asking him questions. They did not talk to me. They did not ask me anything, but they were asking him. “Then they were speaking in Hausa language and I did not understand the language very well that time; so I didn’t understand what they were saying.”

She responded in the affirmative that it was at the Emir’s Palace she first saw her mother.

Ese said, “I saw her, but I was not able to talk to her. I was just looking at her and she was crying. I just looked at her. I did not know her and I did not talk to her. I can’t even tell if I could recognize her as my mother, I just looked at her as she was crying.”

“But when I saw her on Tuesday at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, I recognized her as my mother.”

Ese went further to say she didn’t get married in Kano as reports had it. In the continued interview, she revealed: see excerpts below:

While you were away in Kano, they said you got married. Is this true?

Ese: No.

Was there any marriage ceremony?

Ese: No, I did not get married to anybody.

But did they convert you to a Muslim?

Ese: Yes.

How did that happen?

Ese: They took me to one place. Before they took me from the house to Kura, they put me in hijab, then we went to Kura. When we got there, they went to one place, and one old man came there and he would say something and they would say I should repeat. Then I would repeat. If the man said something again, they would say I should repeat and I would repeat just like that.

So, that was how you got converted?

Ese: Yes.

There is also this rumour that it was one old man that actually married you and not Inuwa. Is this true?

Ese: I did not get married to anybody.

While you were there in Kano, did you ever fall sick?

Ese: I don’t know.

What kind of medical attention did you get? Did they give you any injection?

Ese: No, I don’t know. But they did not give me because I don’t like taking injections and I will not take injection when I am sick. It was only when they arrested me on Monday in Kano that they took me to the hospital. And when we got here in Abuja, they took me to the hospital again yesterday, Tuesday. Those are the only two occasions that I have gone to the hospital.

Did they give you any medicine?

Ese: Medicine? I don’t know. But if they put it in water or food… They used to give me something, but I don’t know if it is water they used to prepare it. But if I am not well, they would buy medicine for me and I would take. But it was not those types of native medicine. It was from the pharmacy.

Are you happy reuniting with your family?

Ese: Yes, I am happy to go back to my family.

How do you feel now?

Ese: I don’t know how I feel, but I just look calm. I don’t know what to do.

Do you regret what has happened to you?

Ese: Yes.

How?

Ese: I don’t know, but I have caused my mother a lot of trouble and put her into problem.

If you see Yinusa now, what would you tell him?

Ese:I tell you I’m confused. I don’t know what to do (then she started crying).

What were you doing when you were in Kano?

Ese: Nothing.

You mean you just stayed in the house from morning till night?

Ese: Yes. I did not do anything.

I can see that you now speak Hausa language very well.

Ese: Yes. I can speak Hausa very, very well.

Were you speaking Hausa before you left for Kano?

Ese: No.

So, how did you come about it? Did they teach you?

Ese: No. It is because the people there speak only Hausa. They don’t understand English. And when they spoke, I didn’t understand; so I tried and struggled so I could understand what they were saying and communicate with them. That was how I learnt the language.

They call you Aisha. Didn’t you tell them that’s not your name?

Ese: I answered it like that.

What’s your real name?

Ese: Rita.

How would you relate with your other siblings when you get back home?

Ese: I don’t even know. I have a feeling that they would do something to me for this thing that has happened.

Like what?

Ese: I don’t know if my mother will beat me when we get home for what has happened because she may think that I know everything that happened to me.

I don’t think she would do that, considering all the efforts she put to get you back home.

(Then the mother assured her that she would do no such thing, saying she was filled with gladness for seeing her alive).

How old are you? There has been a controversy about your age.

Ese: I am 14 years old.

When were you born?

Ese: I was born in February 2002.

What is your favourite subject in school?

Ese: Mathematics.

And what do you hope to become in future?

Ese: I hope to go back to school and become a nurse in the future.

Your brother said you are a good Christian and member of the Scripture Union in your school and that you used to preach to people. Is this true?

Ese: (Smiles) Yes.

Tell me about it.

Ese: Yes, I am in the SU, but they took it to the senior students and the senior students started misbehaving. So, we in the junior class took our own to a different level to sanitise the whole thing. We hold our fellowship in our class and go out for evangelism.

What is your advice to young girls like you out there, considering what you have gone through?

Ese: They should be careful.

How?

Ese: They should be careful with the people they play with or talk with, because it’s not everybody that is good.

What is your appeal to your parents since you are afraid they are going to beat you?

Ese: I don’t know what to do. I am confused. I don’t know what really happened to me and I don’t even know where I am. But I know that she is my mother.

What did you miss most while in Kano?

Ese: I missed my mother’s cooking. She used to cook sweet food for me; so I missed good food.

Does it mean you were not eating good food?

Ese: Yes, I was only eating rice and bread.

What would you want your mother to cook for you when you get home?

Ese: Banga soup and starch.