By: Hamza Suleiman
Maiduguri – The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has denied the alleged cases of rape and domestic violence against women in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno.
The SEMA Chairperson in the state, Hajiya Yabawa Kolo, denied the claim by Amnesty International (AI), in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri.
NAN recalls that AI had in its latest report alleged that Nigerian soldiers raped thousands of women and girls who escaped from the Boko Haram insurgents.
The organisation also alleged that the soldiers killed many people who refused to be moved from territories rescued from the insurgents.
But in a reaction, Kolo told NAN that the agency had not received any case of domestic violence against IDPs in any of the camps across the state.
“We have our camp managers and camp supervisors who monitor the day-to-day activities in the camps. We have put in place a feedback mechanism of reporting such cases.
“We are ready to expose anybody involved in any form of human rights violation against our people,” she said.
Kolo, who doubles as the Chairperson of Gender-Based Violence Protection in Borno, said the organisation would fight human rights abuses and stem violence against women.
“We are partnering with the International Federation of Women Lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association and the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), in the fight against any case of abuse in society.
“Through these collaborative partners, we have put up a mechanism where such cases are monitored, reported and prosecuted,” she said.