Ese Oruru, abducted at 13 from her mother’s food shop in Yenagoa, Bayelsa to Kano, where she was forcefully converted to Islam and married off to a Keke driver who abducted her, has graduated from the University of Ilorin with Second Class Upper Division in Education Technology.
On Wednesday, Ms Oruru was among the nearly 12,000 graduands at the University of Ilorin’s 40th convocation and among the few to have Upper Class honours.
Ms Oruru had a sordid encounter back in 2015 after Yunusa Dahiru, a Muslim tricycle driver, orchestrated her abduction from her parents’ custody to the northern Kano, where he secretly married her under Islamic law without the consent of her parents.
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The case sparked nationwide outrage after Rose Oruru, the victim’s mother, said she was repeatedly denied access to her daughter at the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II’s palace. Mr Sanusi was the ex-governor of the nation’s central bank.
Following a sluggish trial that lasted five years, Mr Dahiru, alias Yellow, was sentenced in 2020 to 26 years’ imprisonment for unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor, trafficking, illicit intercourse, and sexual exploitation of a minor. Yellow was 18 years old when he raped the minor.
But by the time the police intervened and rescued Ms Oruru from her abductor, she was already pregnant and had already lost a year of her secondary school education.
Ms Oruru spent nine months in captivity in Kano. The teenager returned to finish her secondary education after giving birth.
The news of her academic success has sparked widespread celebration on social media, with many Nigerians praising her courage, resilience, and determination to rebuild her life despite her traumatic past.
Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, was among the first to share the news, expressing joy and admiration for Ese’s achievement.
“I am super-joyful to honor and celebrate the academic achievement of Ese Oruru! Ese graduated 2nd Class Upper Division in Education Technology today at the University of Ilorin and now stands as a testament of what a determined mind can accomplish,” Ezekwesili wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Above all, I thank God for Ese. The future holds so much greater promise for this young woman whose life has evolved into an extraordinary inspiration and role model for us all. Congratulations!” she added.
Human rights activist Rinu Oduala also joined in celebrating Ese’s milestone, highlighting her painful journey.
“Ese Oruru was a victim of a very brutal crime against the girl child in Nigeria. She was kidnapped at a young age, trafficked to Kano, forcibly converted to Islam, and sexually abused. She is a graduate now! Congratulations, Ese! We are very proud of your resilience!” she wrote.
Ese’s story gained national and international attention in 2015 after she was abducted from Bayelsa State and taken to Kano, where she was forcibly married and converted. Her eventual rescue and return to her family exposed deep flaws in Nigeria’s child protection systems and sparked renewed advocacy for the rights of girls.
