ALL AFRICA
Kidnapped girl Ese Oruru’s mother Rose Oruru (right) with police spokeswoman Bisi Kolawole at the police headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria PHOTO/The Guardian
Nigerians have expressed their anger and frustration at the report that the abducted Bayelsa girl, Ese Oruru, 14, is already five-month pregnant.
This development is said to be the real reason police authorities shielded Ese from the press since her arrival from Kano on Tuesday, and not the earlier claim of child protection.
According to a police officer who was part of those that handled the case, Ese was covered in hijab to conceal her growing baby bump – at least for the moment.
The officer, who pleaded anonymity, noted that if one carefully watched the pictures on the pages of newspapers yesterday, they would notice her protruding tummy, so the police had to shield her because of the sensitivity of the case. So, the white hijab she wore when she arrived on Tuesday was used to disguise the alleged pregnancy.
According to the police officer, it was her pregnant condition that caused Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase to give instructions that she be transported by air after she was rescued, rather than by road.
He also confirmed that the Gender and Child Protection Unit, which had taken her to the medical department of the Force, had been told of her condition even before she was presented to the family.
Meanwhile, IGP Solomon Arase has ordered an in-house administrative enquiry to review the professional conduct of officers responsible for the initial investigation of the alleged kidnapping of the now pregnant teenage schoolgirl Ese Oruru.
A visible exasperated police boss warned that any officer indicted of professional dereliction of duty will be firmly dealt with accordingly.
All Africa for more