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
destruction.
"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.
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