The House of Representative on Wednesday vowed to unravel alleged ongoing cases of rape in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the country.
This followed a motion by Rep. Hassan Saleh (Benue-APC) on the “need to investigate the untoward activities going on in various Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Nigeria.”
Moving the motion, Saleh said that the effort of government concerning the care and protection of the IDPs was not enough, insisting that there was need for more to be done to protect the people.
He expressed concern over the publication in one of the national dailies of Dec. 17, 2017 on how IDPs in Nigeria were poorly managed.
“There are several IDP camps all over the country due to the continuous invasion by Boko Haram which has led to displacement of many innocent citizens from their communities” he said.
According to Saleh, there are lots of stories in national dailies, including New York Times, U.S., of harrowing experiences of rape of women and girls by men in the camps, especially those assigned to protect them.
He expressed worry that the stories were the same in all the camps across the country namely:
IDP Abuja, March 14, 2018 (NAN) The House of Representative on Wednesday vowed to unravel alleged rampant cases of raping across Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the country.
This followed a motion by Rep. Hassan Saleh (Benue-APC) on the “need to investigate the untoward activities going on in the various Internally Displaced Persons IDPs camps in Nigeria.”
Moving the motion, Saleh said government’s effort concerning the care and protection of the IDPs was not enough, hence the need for government to do more to protect the victims.
He expressed concern over the publication in one of the nation’s dailies of Dec. 17, 2017 on how the IDPs in Nigeria were poorly managed.
“There are several IDP camps all over the country due to the continuous invasion by Boko Haram which has led to displacement of many innocent citizens from their communities” he said.
According to him, there are a lot of stories in National dailies including New York Times of the harrowing Experiences of rape allegedly committed against women and girls by men in the camps, especially those who are supposed to protect them.
He expressed worry that the stories of rape, sex for food and materials, rampant pregnancy and abandonment of young mothers and their children were the same in all the camps across the country
“There are also cases of pilfering of relief materials and extortion ravaging the camps.
“Human Right watch had reportedly written to various government agencies requesting comments on the various allegations emanating from all the camps but has not received any response.
“The National Emergency Management (NEMA) is mandated by its Act to provide relief materials to victims of natural or other disasters and to assist in their rehabilitation but it unable to do so.
“NEMA and the Refugee Commission which have expanded mandate for IDPs are unable to cope with the level of displacement,” he said.
The motion was unanimously adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara.
The House, therefore, mandated its Committee on IDPs, Refugees and Initiative on North-East to investigate cases of rape, teenage pregnancy, extortion and stealing of relief materials in IDPs’ camps.
The committee has eight weeks to carry out the assignment. (NAN)
