The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Ibrahim Idris, said two policemen, three army personnel, one prison official, one Air Force personnel, a staff of Borno Ministry for Agriculture and two members of the Civilian JTF have been arrested for sexually abusing women and girls displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
A report published in Human Rights Watch, in October, detailed how government officials abused and raped women living at IDP camps in Borno State.
The report documented sexual abuse, including rape and exploitation, of 43 women and girls living in seven internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
Four of the victims told Human Rights Watch that they were drugged and raped, while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance.
President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the I-G and the affected state governors to investigate the allegation.
Police set up a special panel to investigate the alleged abuses.
Speaking Tuesday at the Inspector-General of Police Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Idris said police would liaise with the Army and Air Force to make their personnel available for a thorough investigation.
Mr. Idris said after the investigation, any suspects found guilty of the offence would be dismissed and taken to court for prosecution.
“We are going to conduct a thorough investigation and if anyone is found guilty we will dismiss him then take him to court,” he said.
He said the police had put in place some mechanisms, including the deployment of female police officers to IDPs camp, to check future occurrences.
On the Rivers re-run election, Mr. Idris said the police force had begun the deployment of personnel to the state for peaceful and fair election.
He said there was need for collaboration between the police and sister security agencies for the election.
Mr. Idris, who declined to comment on the alleged withdrawal of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Gov. Nyisom Wike of Rivers, said the police had a good working relationship with all the 36 state governors.
He advised state commissioners of police to ensure that Nigerians were not subjected to hardships on the roads during the Yuletide.
“You should ensure that no hardship is created for citizens of Nigeria, try and ease movements on the roads,” he said.
(NAN)
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