Following recent reports about some officials sexually
harassing female internally displaced persons, Governor Kashim Shettima
has revealed his plans to write letters requesting the Inspector
General of Police, the Director General of the Department of State
Security, the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons,
NAPTIP and the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA to deploy
female and male undercover detectives to all IDP camps in Borno State to
spy on culprits and bring them to book.
Speaking at a
courtesy call by a delegation from the National University Commission on
tour ongoing infrastructure at the proposed Borno State University,
which held at the Government House in Maiduguri on Tuesday, Governor
Shettima said deployment of undercover agents will be a permanent
measure in addition to the urgent need for investigation of the report
by the Human Rights Watch released days ago which said some female IDPs
interviewed had alleged they were sexually harassed by some security
officials, to the extent of getting them pregnant.
"Today, as
Governor of Borno State, there is no issue that gives me headache like
the unfortunate bye-products of IDP camps. Our citizens were violently
sent out of their houses and communities, it is their fundamental rights
to be provided alternative accommodation with their food and health
cater for. Sadly and very sadly indeed, the IDP camps have become
avenues that horrible stories of sexual slavery, prostitution rings,
drug peddling and other social vices are emanating from.
"Only yesterday
(Monday) there was a report by a Human Rights group alleging incidences
of sexual abuses by some Federal and State workers in some of the IDP
camps. This is highly condemnable. Apart from investigating these claims
and arresting culprits which is absolutely necessary, I am going to
write letters to the Inspector General of Police, the Director General
of the DSS, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency and may be the
National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons,
requesting all of them to deploy female and male undercover detectives
to all our camps to permanently spy on anyone involved in sexual
harassment, any form of prostitution, drugs trafficking, possible child
trafficking and even the allegations of diversion of food items meant
for IDP’s.
"I would want
these detectives to report their findings to their security
establishments and whoever is found wanting should be picked up without
notifying me so long as there is verifiable evidence to prosecute him or
her. Ladies and gentlemen, I am tired of applying the element of
persuasion in handling the issues of IDP’s, we need to wield the big
stick. The problem with managing the IDP camp is that you are dealing
with a population of two or more local government areas in one location
and you cannot imprison them by restricting or stopping them from
leaving the IDP camp in the day time. When a female IDP leaves the camp
in the morning, you cannot be in control of where she goes and who she
sees. If she leaves the camp and returns the following day, she may
claim to have visited a family member and little can be done. I strongly
believe there are cases of sexual harassment but some of the women may
be consenting to sexual advances largely due to extreme poverty and loss
of value system. We have to instill sanity into the IDP camps and I
hope we will not end up having human rights activists telling us we
cannot deploy undercover detectives into IDP camps due to one form of
rights violation or the other. Desperate situations call for desperate
measures. Sexual harassment of female IDPs is a desperate situation.
"None of us here is beyond becoming an IDP if Allah decrees
and none of us would fold arms if his or her daughter is in position to
be sexually harassed, so we must act now" the Governor said.
Shettima explained that the history of Borno State has
painted negative by the Boko Haram insurgency noting that the State has
gotten tired of counting deaths and destructions.
"The Borno Story
that has been painted very badly by the Boko Haram. We are even tired
of counting the number of deaths, number of those of injured, value of
private institutions and private property destroyed and the huge number
of persons internally displaced" the Governor said.
Isa GusauSpecial Assistant on Media to the Governor
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