Laila St. Matthew-Daniel, a  social  activist, explains, in this interview, why all those implicated in  the Ese Oruru saga should be prosecuted.   She also says sentiment, religion  and culture should never be used as excuses to abuse children. Excerpts:

The Ese  issue has raised  concerns, with many people shocked.   What was your  reaction when you heard  about  it?

When I heard it first in January, I was horrified; that in this day and age, a young girl could  be taken from her parents, converted, given another name and married off without the consent of her parents and, to  compound it all, she is underaged. That even when the mother finally located the whereabouts of the child in Kano, the abducters refused to release the girl, despite instructions  to do so.   That is very sad and painful to hear.   I kept tab with the NGO monitoring the exercise of setting Ese free and finally lent my own voice to the call.

We understand that this directive had been given as far back as last September?

The Emir of Kano  was said to have waded in when the mother got to Kano and the case was brought before him.   It was a lucky break for the mother because if she had not been told that Yinusa was the one who had taken Ese away, she may never have been able to locate her, and it would have just been taken as a case of a missing  girl.

Ese’s mother has a canteen where she sells food and she had always been nice to the people who patronized her.   She was always kind to them such that even on the special religious days she used to give them free food. So it was one of these young guys who mercifully took pity on Ese’s mother, when she found her daughter missing, and volunteered the information that Ese was not missing, but was with Yinusa; and that was how she was able to go to Kano, with the guy, to locate Ese.   It is most tragic.   We want to see the end of this.   What people must know is that she is not of age.

There are also many anomalies in the report  on the reason  for  the continued detainment of Ese in Kano.    We were told that the Emir gave a written mandate, in September, that the girl should be released because it is against even Islamic tenets to marry or convert an underage child – especially without the consent of the parents.

He gave the instruction in a letter – and a man of his caliber is not expected to go everyday to find out how far his instruction had been obeyed. He expected his instructions to be obeyed.

Unfortunately, Eze was supposed to be in  police custody, but she was allowed to go back to the abductor, while the mother kept going back and forth before an NGO, Khan Initiative, took it up in December  2015.

How do you  describe the role of the police when the mother first reported the alleged abduction?

The police did not act promptly. The police did not act with the seriousness that the matter deserved and it boils down to the fact that we needlessly bring in emotion and sentiment  into serious issues of law enforcement that should be dispassionate and clinical.

Look, once the Emir gave the instruction – because it appears his voice is even stronger than that of the IGP – why did the police not obey? Then when he came out to issue the order, they quickly obeyed now because of the controversy it had generated. So it must be investigated why the police did not ensure the safety of the girl since last September.

All those involved should be investigated.   For instance when Yunusa arrived in Kano, who were those who welcomed him home.   This is the case of an abduction; and you then converted  her.

Interestingly, there are some allegations that there were two letters from the Emir’s palace giving conditions for the release of Ese – that she would be released to the police; that the parents should not beat her or punish her; that she should not be re-converted to Christianity.

But, the father has stated that the first thing he would do is to take her to church for prayers (deliverance) because she didn’t appear to be behaving normally from what the mother said.

So many anomalies; but when the alarm is raised like this, how come we respond in a  slow manner?

We’ve gotten to a stage of placidity.   We react to the negative first before we  do what should be done. That is what happened to the Chibok girls.  The story come out on  April 15,  2014, that the girls had been abducted on the night of  April 14, but  rather move promptly to recover the girls, people kept debating whether it was possible, true or not; and now we are almost two years on.   Same thing with this Ese girl. The mother kept going to and fro – tossed here and there until she began to receive  NGO assistance.

Unfortunately, people who knew absolutely nothing about what was going on are saying Ese must have been prostituting herself, she must have been loose. Some say it is negligence on the parents side – so many judges and jury abound but,  at the end of the day the issue is this – a girl-child was taken away by an adult without permission from her parents and that is abduction.

Was there a case made to the local police in Bayelsa? Because  we, sometimes, don’t follow the process of law enforcement?

We will get there in the trust of reporting such issues and being taken seriously. But let me say from experience that people don’t believe in the law enforcement agencies as such.   Progressively, however, the leadership of the police is making efforts to change that and to educate Nigerians that it is better to trust the police in cases of abuse and violence.   In my social activism work in the field of violence and abuse we encounter a reluctance of women to speak to the police first – they come to us but we always explain the importance for the issue to be documented by the Police first and foremost.   So, it is the norm that the first port of call is usually not the police – that is why a lot of education and sensitization needs to be done.   Even intelligent people are ignorant about what to do and what their rights are.

We hear all these cases of abuses, but then we have a Child Rights Act. What’s its importance in the light of these abuses?

Yes, it is there and it is very clear, but not all states have domesticated it.

Why is that so?

Well the states have their own statutes regarding child rights based on culture, religion etc.   You will find out that when this type of situation happens, people quickly bring in culture or religion, but we have to move beyond that and take a holistic approach – is that child of age? Is she psychologically ready to be taken as a  wife? Is she physically ready? Is she emotionally capable of being a wife and mother?   These are issues that we have to understand.

How do we get to a point where we can separate religion and culture from these issues?

It concerns you and I. We have to keep at it because if the  centre is not able to enforce domestication by all the states, then how do we get to a point where we see it for what it is – abuse of the right of a child to education, the right of a child to be secure and the right of a child to be a child.

What should be the next step for Ese now that she is out?

Firstly, we should understand that until a child is up to 18years, she does not have any right to change her religion from the religion of her parents.   A child cannot also decide to get married if she is not up to the age of 18.   There must be parental consent.   So, the issue of parents giving their consent in some parts of the country before the child attains the age of 18 is what the Child Rights Act talks about.   I’ve heard people say,   ‘maybe she may have been sexually active while working with her mum in the canteen’. Please let us not begin to rationalize what is not.

As I said, the mother says she has known the guy, Yinusa, aka Yellow, in the community for many years. Some earlier said he was much older. Later they said Yinusa was 18.   But meanwhile when Yinusa first walked into the Oruru’s compound six years ago, she said he was not 12years old. He was much older. So, realistically, he cannot be 18years suddenly.

And even if Yinusa is 18, Ese is not. She’s younger and that makes it a violation of the law in all forms – statutory rape, abduction, forceful conversion, etc.

He must be prosecuted for what he has done and all those complicit in the matter must face the law.   This has nothing to do with religion or tribe.   It is about the law that has been broken.   We can’t hide behind religion or culture. Too many acts are committed against the girl-child and persecution circumvented.   This cannot continue.

As for Ese, she needs to undergo counselling and therapy, more especially now that it is alleged she is  five  months pregnant.