Senate probes Amnesty International report accusing soldiers of raping, starving Boko Haram victims
By OakTV
07 Jun 2018 |
10:36 am |
7m 24s
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday resolved to look into a report by the international human rights organisation, Amnesty International, accusing Nigerian security forces of rape and domestic violence against women in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Borno.
I should strongly caution that NASS/ MPs tread cautiously on how they handle this amnesty Int’l report on alleged raping of Boko Haram women in the NE of Nigeria.In war zones women are usually captured , raped or married by force by soldiers fighting on them. During and after the civil war in 1970 as a child I witnessed first hand how Nigerian soldiers were capturing and forced them into marriage. I n most cases , loose women on their own ran to these soldiers for sex in exchange for food, shelter and money. In such a situation or situations you find it difficult to differentiate mutual or agreed sex from forced one called rape. Again, in the modern world of smart phones with cameras, pictures can be taken and made to look real of a rape taking place. Every man is weak in the area of sex talk less of soldiers in the war front for many days starved of sex and romance should they see beckoning women around them you do not rule out sexual relationships occurring as it did occur in the SE in 1970s when the civil war ended. To begin to treat NE cases with exception just because Amnesty Int’l has shouted cannot be reasonable as it is grossly inconsequential. Sen. Sani bringing the matter up for investigation on the floor of the senate can be understandable coming from his background as a human right activist or member of sch community. This was a few weeks ago how Senate jumped up into wanting to wade into a situation in OAU where a professor was accused or alleged sexual harassment by a female masters student of that university. This student has plotted with her boy friend and some junior lecturers in setting up and taping demands made to this lady by her professor as a trade off for marks and people are taking this allegation so seriously that the upper chmber of Nigeria law making would waste tax payers money to investigate. Yet when ii 2016,17 when a number of NASS who went to US were accused of gross sexual misconduct in America, their members rose up to defend them because this might have been what most of them do when they go abroad on assignment or holiday. To now insist on investigation sexual misconduct committed in war torn NE by Nigerian soldiers or take up OAU professor for whitewashing and leaving investigations on what sexual atrocities committed by NASS members in US and the allegation was officially made by US embassy in Nigeria cannot be less than playing double standard, I must note, here and now! Therefore I hereby state that the stance of Nigerian soldiers/government should hold , that investigation into this matter be made by the soldiers themselves because they can best understand themselves/their environment, that OAU authorities be allowed to investigate and discipline their professor in how , this because only the lecturers understand how female students behave when they are weak academically for it’s said that the weak resort to blackmail, that members of ASUU protest NASS initiative of wanting to institute a law on sexual harassment of female students by lecturers rather than sexual harrassment by all Nigerians including the NASS who might not be free of what law they are rushing to enact. It should be noted that politicians always go to campuses to recruit ladies as bush meat (sex) during political gathering and after these ladies have had nights with hem they came back to look down on their lecturers who might not be able to lavish money on them as members of NASS. Again, ASUU/VCs whom Prof Atahiru Jega has accused of asking for bribes before approving university budge s might be investigated in house and such reports be sent to govt/NASS for further confirmation. NASS insincere action on both soldiers and OAU staff without first investigating sexual misconduct or exonerate themselves from it would amount to kettle calling the pot black! It would amount to a rape of democracy in our land. Just recently a fmr governor asserted that in one of the political parties in Nigeria as in others ”We kidded people and people did, though it was not good but people had to die for some others to have their way has NASS investigated if it trully happens? I rest my case here and I decree that all those one sided investigation by NASS should stop now without delay. Thank you in the advancemnt of our nacent democracy, amen!
