Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Solomon Arase, on Wednesday, announced severe punishments against Yinusa Dahiru, the abductor of Ese Oruru, alongside other key actors in the seven-month-old saga, to serve as a deterrent to others involving in such vicious acts.

Arase, who also declared that any officer indicted of professional dereliction would be firmly dealt with, accordingly, disclosed this at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, shortly before Ese’s mother, Mrs Rose Oruru, was led to take custody of her daughter.

Speaking through the Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, the IGP declared that “aside prosecution of the actors directly involved in this case, an in-house administrative inquiry has also been designed to review the professional conducts of officers responsible for the initial investigation of this case.

“The victim is currently being granted psychological and emotional support by officers of the Gender and Child Protection Unit of the Force which handles cases of this nature that touch on violence against children.

“In addition, a team from the Medical Department of the Force is also extending medical attention to the girl child. Upon certifying her medical status and emotional state, Ese Oruru will be re-united with her parents who are already around to work with police professionals in this regards.

“The background to this incident is that on the 20th of August, 2015, Mr Charles Oruru of Michael Iseh Street, Opolo, Yenagoa, reported at the Ekiki Police Divisional headquarters that his 13-year-old daughter, Ese, had been abducted by one Yunusa Dahiru (alias Yellow), who hails from Tofa village in Kura Local Government Area of Kano State, but resident in Yenegoa at the time.

“The complainant added that the suspect escaped to Kano with the girl, with intent to permanently deprive her parents of legitimate access to her. Consequent upon the complaint, one Mohammed Dan Kano, who was privy to the criminal machination, was traced and arrested by a team of detectives from Bayelsa State Police Command.

“Following facts elicited from Mohammed Dan Kano on the whereabouts of the principal suspect and the victim, on September 1, 2015, a team of detectives accompanied by the father of the victim and Alhaji KC Dahiru, chairman of Arewa Community in Yenagoa, left Yenagoa for Kano alongside Mohammed Dan Kano, in furtherance of the investigation.

“On arrival in Kano, it was confirmed that the Kano State Sharia Commission and the Office of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1 headquarters, had already waded into the matter. It was also confirmed that the victim was in custody of the commission.

“All civil efforts to secure the release and reunion of the victim with her parents, however, remained hampered by some bureaucratic and complex intertwining factors, until a few days ago, when the attention of the IGP was drawn to the incident and accompanying challenges by the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police.

“Following the prompt intervention of the IGP, I am delighted to confirm that the police have today, secured the release of Ese, the girl-child victim from the Kano State Sharia Commission. She is currently in safe custody of officers of the Gender Unit of the Force. I can also confirm that the Force has also taken into custody, Yunusa Dahiru alias Yellow, her abductor.”

Meanwhile, the mother of the rescued Ese, Mrs Rose Oruru, has appreciated Nigerians, as well as the Nigeria Police and well-wishers, who assisted in one way or the other to ensure that her daughter was brought back alive and safe, saying she could not say much for now. (Nigerian Tribune)

•File photo shows IGP Arase fielding questions fom newsmen.

Update news