The
Borno state governor, kashim Shettima has requested female undercover detectives
at IDP camps in light of recent reports about some officials sexually harassing
female internally displaced persons.
In a
recent statement during a courtesy call on
the governor by a delegation from the National University Commission on tour
ongoing infrastructure at the proposed Borno State University, which held at
the Government House , the governor 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.
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.
According to him, “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.”
“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.
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