More revelations into the roles played by Police Zone 1 Command, over the abduction of the 14-year-old Ese Oruru to Kano State, by Inuwa Dahiru Bala, emerged yesterday.
Daily Sun gathered that the inability of the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 1, Shuaibu Gambo to effectively follow up the matter forced a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Bashir Wali, who is also an indigene of Kano to intervene.
His intervention, however, did not yield any result. The retired senior police officer was said to have worked round the clock and promised to personally handover the kidnapped girl to the AIG, Zone 1, for onward hand over to her parents.
Unfortunately, that did not happen until Ese’s case leaked to the media, which led to her eventual release by her abductors.
Top security sources told Daily Sun of how the police headquarters in Abuja had resolved to present the matter to President Muhammadu Buhari for intervention.
If the case had gone before the president, police would have asked him to issue a presidential directive to facilitate the process of Ese’s release.
Daily Sun gathered that some of bottlenecks encountered by the police handling the matter for the release of the girl to her parents, after her father, Mr. Charles Oruru, reported the matter to the Ekeki police divisional police headquarters at Yenagoa, on August, 20, 2015, met a brick wall following the refusal of Kano State Sharia Commission to cooperate with the police.
It was gathered that after efforts by the police team to Kano State Government and the Sharia commission to hand over the parties involved; that is Ese and Inuwa, to Bayelsa State Police Command lingered for too long, the officers became frustrated
The situation, was said to have forced the police to make a formal representation to Kano State Government as well as the emir of Kano, appealed to them to use their exalted offices and intervene in the matter to facilitate the possible transfer of the case to Bayelsa State Government for proper intervention.
It also appealed to Kano State Government and the emir, to use their good offices, to help reunite the young girl with her parents and enable her continue her education in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
It was gathered that after the complaint from Ese’s father, the matter was investigated, which led to the arrest of one Mohammed Dankano, who police investigation revealed had prior knowledge of the abduction.
Upon the findings, he was arrested and taken to the police station in Yenagoa, where he reportedly made useful, confessional statement.
From Mohammed Dankano’s statement, police made arrangements to travel to Kano, with Ese’s father. The mission was to rescue Ese, it was gathered.
Daily Sun, learnt that the trip to Kano, which took place on September 1, 2015, also had in the entourage, one Alhaji K. C. Dahiru, who is said to be the chairman of Arewa community in Yenagoa.
On arrival in Kano, Daily Sun gathered that the police swung into action and found that Inuwa had not only been arrested by the Sharia commission, but, was also in their custody. The commission reportedly refused to hand him over to the police team from Bayelsa on the grounds that Ese had converted to Islam.
It was at this point that the police drew the attention of the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, to intimate him of their predicament.
The team did not only stop there as it also contacted some eminent persons in the state to intervene. It was during their appeal to well-meaning indigenes that they got in touch with retired DIG Bashiru Wali.
It was alleged that while these were going on, neither the Kano police command nor the Bayelsa police command and the AIG of the zone alerted the headquarters in Abuja of the matter.
It reportedly took the efforts of Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who alerted the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, on the matter.
That was on Saturday, February 28, through the minister’s phone call to the IGP.
By this time, the report was trending in mainstream media and on social media with Nigerians calling for the prosecution of all involved in Ese’s abduction.
Daily Sun, gathered that upon confirming the incident from the Kano police command, the IGP immediately deployed an investigative team who sent in their findings within hours.
Thereafter, the police hierarchy had a meeting on the matter where it was decided that an official letter be written to the president informing him of the development which, they posited that if nothing was done to release Ese, the situation could generate to crisis.
At the said meeting, it was gathered that police also requested that the president give a directive on the matter.
The presidential directive was to enable police swing into action to recover Ese using maximum force, if they meet any resistance from the group opposing her release.
It was gathered that, shortly after the letter was dispatched to the president that Ese was released.
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