Kidnapping of Ese Oruru

Ese Rita Oruru, born 22 February 2002, was the youngest child of Charles and Rose Oruru of Ughelli North, Delta State. The family lived in Opolo, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where her mother ran a food vending business. Oruru was a JSS 3 student at Opolo Community Secondary School, described by a teacher as brilliant and humble, and was an active member of her school's Scripture Union, with an ambition to become a nurse.

On the night of 12 August 2015, while her parents were away, Oruru was abducted from her mother's shop by Yunusa Dahiru, a tricycle operator also known as "Yellow." Dahiru transported her to Kano State and to the palace of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, claiming to traditional leaders that the teenager had willingly followed him. At the palace, Oruru was forcibly converted to Islam, renamed "Aisha," and married to Dahiru without her parents' knowledge or consent.

Oruru's mother, Rose Oruru, traveled to Tufa village in Kura local government area on 14 August 2015 after learning her daughter's whereabouts, but was denied entry to the palace by local youths. She returned on 17 August with police officers from Kwani Police Station and was able to enter the palace, where she saw her daughter arrive in a vehicle with police escort alongside Dahiru. The case was subsequently transferred to the Kano State Criminal Investigation Department, and Rose Oruru was directed to report the matter in Bayelsa State. Efforts to secure her daughter's release stalled for months.

The case drew national attention after Oruru's parents publicly pleaded for her release, and a media campaign, including coverage by The Punch, brought sustained public pressure. On 29 February 2016, Kano State Police rescued Oruru, and she was placed in the custody of the Nigerian government. She was reunited with her mother in Abuja on 2 March 2016. At the time of her rescue, she was revealed to be five months pregnant with Dahiru's child.

Human rights lawyer Ebun Adegboruwa described the incident as "a clear case of child trafficking" and "a worse form of corruption." The Kano State government, through its Information, Youths and Sports Commissioner, denied any state involvement and called for the prosecution of the culprit.

Dahiru was arraigned on 8 March 2016 in a Federal High Court in Yenagoa on a five-count indictment covering abduction, child trafficking, illicit sex, sexual exploitation, and unlawful carnal knowledge. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded in prison custody. The prosecution successfully sought to have the victim's testimony heard privately given her status as a minor, and opposed bail, citing the six months it took police to apprehend Dahiru and the risk of flight. Justice H.A. Nganjiwa later granted bail of ₦3 million with strict surety conditions, though Dahiru remained in custody pending fulfillment of those terms. On 21 May 2020, the Federal High Court found Dahiru guilty and sentenced him to twenty-six years imprisonment.