Law enforcement agents have begun a clampdown on security operatives and government officials taking s*xual advantage of vulnerable females in IDP camps in Borno.
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 s*xually 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 s*xual abuse, including r*pe 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 r*ped, while 37 were coerced into s*x 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 according to the News Agency of Nigeria.