Aftermath of HRW report: 2 policemen, 3 soldiers, 5 others arrested for raping IDPs

Two policemen, three soldiers and five others who allegedly raped Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East have been arrested.

The five others are, a prison official, an Air Force officer, a member of staff of Borno Ministry of Agriculture and two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, Borno State.

They were said to have drugged, coerced and raped several girls and women in IDPs in the North-East.

Disclosing this in Abuja, Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said if found guilty, the policemen and other security operatives involved in the crime would face dismissals and prosecution after investigation.

He said, “From the findings so far, we have succeeded in our investigation. A number of suspects have been arrested and they include two policemen, three army officers, one prison official; one Air Force officer, an employee of the Borno State Ministry of Agriculture and two members of the Civilian JTF.”

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According to Idris, the force had put in place strategies, including the deployment of female police officers to IDP camps in order to avoid a recurrence of such ugly incidence.

This ugly event became public when a Non-Governmental Organisation, Human Rights Watch, in its report alleged that camp officials, vigilance groups, soldiers and policemen have been engaging in sexual harassment of women and teenagers in IDP camps in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

Some of the victims had told Human Rights Watch how they were drugged and raped and how 37 of them were coerced into sex through false marriage promises, material and financial assistance.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who was shocked by the report, had directed the IG and the state governments to carry out proper investigation into the alleged incidents.

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