The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has delivered judgement in the famous Ese Oruru case. In 2016, Ese, then a teenager, was reportedly abducted from Bayelsa, taken to Kano State and forced into marriage by one Yinusa Dahiru.
On Thursday, Justice Jane Inyang sentenced Dahiru to 26 years in prison. She acquitted Dahiru on count one but jailed him five years (count two), seven years (count three) seven years (count four) and seven years, count five.
Justice Inyang said the sentences would run concurrently. Speaking after the matter became public, Bala Dahiru, Yinusa’s father, declared that there was no marriage between the two.
Dahiru spoke at his home in Kauyen Tofa, Kura Local Government in Kano. He said, “There was no marriage between my son and Ese Oruru because it is illegal. I promptly reported the matter to the village head and on their arrival, they were taken to his home who in turn reported to the District Head at Kura.”