Ese, who was 13 years old at the time, was abducted by a man named Yunusa Dahiru (alias Yellow) and taken to Kano, where she was raped, forcibly Islamized and married off without her parents' consent.
Human rights lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa, called the incident a "clear case of child trafficking" and "a worse form of corruption.
"[4] Kano State government, through its Information, Youths and Sports Commissioner, Malam Garba, denied any involvement and demanded the culprit be prosecuted since the Constitution and Islamic teaching abhor abduction and forced marriage.
Her family lived in Opolo, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, where her mother Mrs. Oruru operated her food vending business.
[7] Yunusa Dahiru, a tricycle operator and member of the Hausa tribe kidnapped Ese Oruru on the night of 12 August 2015.
[citation needed] Oruru was forcibly converted to Islam, renamed "Aisha" and married off to Dahiru without her parents' permission.
[citation needed] From Kwani Police, the case was transferred to the Kano State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Subsequent attempts to secure the release of Oruru proved abortive until 29 February 2016, when it was reported that she had been rescued by police following a massive campaign by The Punch which sparked national outrage.
[9] On 8 March 2016, Dahiru was arraigned in a Federal High Court in Yenagoa on a five-count indictment charging him with abduction, child trafficking, illicit sex, sexual exploitation and unlawful carnal knowledge.
[10][11] On 14 March, counsel for the prosecution, Kenneth Dika served the Federal Court with an application to have Oruru's testimony heard behind closed doors.
She called on the police to "live up to expectation" and bring in more lawyers to strengthen the legal team to prosecute the case.