13-year old girl from Bayelsa abducted and forced to marry in emir of Kano's palace

CHILD abuse campaigners have stepped up their fight to free a 13 year girl from Bayelsa State who was abducted by a man from Kano known as Yinusa and whisked off to the northern city where she was converted to Islam and forcefully married in the emir's palace.

 

In one of the first cases of inter-regional force marriage, the girl was abducted in August last year without the knowledge of her family. Her parents then traced her location to the palace of the Emir of Kano Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Mohammed, where her abductor allegedly kept her in a forced child marriage.

 

They subsequently contacted the police, who appear helpless in helping as according to the girl's mother, policemen were attacked on two occasions at the palace of the Emir of Kano, when they went there. Since August, the girl identified as Ese Rita Oruru has not been seen by her parents.

 

Her parents, Charles and Rose Oruru are working with child right activists to get their daughter, who has been renamed Aisha, back but are not making much headway so far. Under Nigerian law, a 13-year-old cannot consent to sex or marriage and even her parents cannot give her out in marriage.