Amnesty International has in its
latest report highlighted sordid tales of how women and girls displaced by
insurgency in the North East were raped by soldiers and Civilian Joint Task
Force, JTF. This is even as human rights groups, including Campaign for Human
Rights, CHR, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, CISLAC, and Nigeria
Action for Youths, NAY, urged the Federal Government to take the report in good
faith and use it to prevent a recurrence, rather that dismissing it.
The report released yesterday by the
Manager, Amnesty International, Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, revealed how the military
and civilian JTF separated women from their husbands and confined them to
remote ”satellite camps” where they were raped, sometimes in exchange for food.
“It is absolutely shocking that people who had already suffered so much under
Boko Haram have been condemned to further horrendous abuse by the Nigerian
military.
“Instead of receiving protection from the authorities, women and
girls have been forced to succumb to rape in order to avoid starvation or
hunger,” said Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria. The
report said that in some cases, the abuse appeared to be part of a pattern of
persecution of anyone perceived to have a connection to Boko Haram, adding that
women reported being beaten and called “Boko Haram wives” by the security
officials when they complained about their treatment.
It noted that as the
military recovered territory from Boko Haram in 2015, it ordered people living
in rural villages to the satellite camps, in some cases indiscriminately
killing those who remained in their homes, adding that hundreds of thousands of
people fled or were forced from these areas. The report highlighted how scores
of women described how soldiers and Civilian JTF members used force and threats
to rape them in satellite camps, including taking advantage of hunger to coerce
them to become their “girlfriends”, which involved being available for sex
regularly.
According to the report, five women told Amnesty International that
they were raped in late 2015 and early 2016 in Bama Hospital camp as
famine-like conditions prevailed. ”Ama (not her real name), 20, said they will
give you food but in the night, they will come back around 5pm or 6pm and tell
you to come with them. One [Civilian JTF] man came and brought food to me. ”The
next day he said I should take water from his place and I went.
He then closed
the tent door behind me and raped me. He said I gave you these things, and we
have to be husband and wife,” the report stated. It stated that ten others in
the same camp said that they were also coerced into becoming “girlfriends” of
security officials to save themselves from starvation. ”Most of these women had
already lost children or other relatives due to lack of food, water and
healthcare in the camp. The sexual exploitation continues at an alarming level
as women remain desperate to access sufficient food and livelihood
opportunities.
”Women said the sexual exploitation follows an organized system,
with soldiers openly coming into the camp for sex and Civilian JTF members
choosing the “very beautiful” women and girls to take to the soldiers outside.
Women reported they were too afraid to reject demands for sex. “Sex in these
highly coercive circumstances is always rape, even when physical force is not
used, and Nigerian soldiers and Civilian JTF members have been getting away it.
They act like they don’t risk sanction, but the perpetrators and their
superiors who have allowed this to go unchallenged have committed crimes under
international law and must be held to account,” said Osai Ojigho.
The report
also revealed that people confined in the satellite camps faced an acute food
shortage from early 2015 until mid-2016, when humanitarian assistance was increased.
It stated further: ”At least hundreds, and possibly thousands, died in Bama
Hospital camp alone during this time. Those interviewed consistently reported
that 15 to 30 people died each day from hunger and sickness during these
months. ”Satellite images, showing how the graveyard inside the camp expanded
quickly during this time, confirm their testimonies. There were also daily
deaths in other satellite camps such as those in Banki and Dikwa. ”From June
2016, the UN and other humanitarian agencies scaled up assistance in the
satellite camps.
Despite this, many women reported continued barriers to
accessing adequate food, exacerbated by restrictions on their ability to leave
the camps. ”A number of women who arrived in satellite camps in Dikwa town in mid-2017
have not received any food assistance since they arrived and described ongoing
hunger, sickness and deaths within their camps. Yanna (not her real name), who
arrived in Dikwa in late-2017 and lived in Fulatari camp, told Amnesty
International: “People are dying, always there is a burial, burial, burial.
I
was thinking maybe one day it will be my own. ”Even where government and
international NGOs distribute food, large-scale corruption has prevented many
people from accessing it. “Confining people to camps without enough food,
despite the fact that those administering the camps knew the conditions were
leading to deaths, violates human rights and international humanitarian law.
Those who allowed this to happen may be guilty of murder.” Amnesty International’s
research further revealed that hundreds of women along with their children had
been held in the notorious Giwa Barracks detention centre since 2015, adding
that while most have been released, an unknown number remained in military
detention.
According to the report, many of those detained since 2015 have been
victims of abductions or forced marriages by Boko Haram who were detained by
the military for being so-called “Boko Haram wives” instead of being rescued.
It said Amnesty International received five reports about sexual violence in
Giwa barracks, while seven women said they gave birth inside their dirty,
overcrowded cells without any medical assistance. At least 32 babies and
children, and five women, have died in detention since 2016.
“The detention of
women and girls on the basis that they were allegedly married to Boko Haram
members is unlawful under international human rights law and Nigerian law, and
is discriminatory,” the report said. The report also noted that since 2015,
various NGOs and humanitarian organizations have reported sexual violence and
deaths in camps for internally displaced people in North East. It noted that
while the authorities frequently promised to investigate such reports, there
had been no tangible action to address the problem and no one appeared to have
been brought to justice.
”It is not always clear if these investigations were
carried out as no reports have been made public. ”In August 2017, the Acting
President of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo established the Presidential Investigation
Panel to review the military’s compliance with its human rights obligations.
Many women testified before the Panel, which submitted its report to President
Muhammadu Buhari in February 2018. “Now is the time for President Buhari to
demonstrate his frequently expressed commitment to protect the human rights of
displaced people in north-east Nigeria. The only way to end these horrific
violations is by ending the climate of impunity in the region and ensuring that
no one can get away with rape or murder.
“The Nigerian authorities must
investigate – or make public their previous investigations – on war crimes and
crimes against humanity in the north-east.
They must also urgently ensure, with
the support of donor governments, that people living in the satellite camps
receive adequate food, and that those arbitrarily detained in military
detention facilities are released,” the report said. Both the Presidency and
Defence Headquarters have since reacted to report, describing it as not only
false but also a calculated attempt to destabilise the country. The military
has degenerated in Nigeria —Campaign for Human Rights Reacting to the report,
Comrade Ayodele Akele of Campaign for Human Right, described the development as
“pathetic and unfortunate.” ”He said: The report is authentic. Amnesty
International has a long credible record we cannot pretend about. It’s a fact
that we no longer have the military we used to know. There is no difference
between them and the police in Nigeria and it’s so unfortunate and pathetic
that our President is not doing anything about it.
”The military has
degenerated into what Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, retd, called them. He has said
it all. The military cannot be relied on for protection. How many times have
they come out to announce to us of killing Boko Haram leader, Shekau? ” This
government is not just serious. If we don’t have organizations as Amnesty
International, the country is doomed. It’s impunity, upon impunity in this
country. I endorse the report, they are the eyes and voices of Nigerians.
”
Anybody denying doesnot mean well for Nigeria — CISLAC In his reaction, Awwal
Ibrahim-Rafsanjani, Executive Director of CISLAC, said: “This report coming
from Amnesty International confirms the reports from various civil societies
organizations and the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria which
expressed concern over human rights abuses and denial of rights in the IDPs.
”This was to show how the victims have been sexually abused and treated badly
by security agencies in Nigeria. The report is shedding light on such crimes
from the victims directly.
This is not good for Nigeria and it shows that the
security agents are to protect the victims rather than deny them their rights.
Anybody who is denying this does not mean well for Nigeria. Govt should use it
to prevent future occurrences —NAY Similarly, Olalekan Dada, Executive
director, Nigeria Action for Youths, said: “Amnesty International reports
exposed what had been happening in the country, not only at the IDP camps, over
the years. It was like a parable of someone who is suppose to be behind you in
time of need denying you your inalienable rights. I hope the government, rather
than defending the military, would examine the reports holistically to prevent
future occurrences.”
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