Nigerian military denies sexual harassment allegations
A soldier of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army looking at the remaining dilapidated buildings of the Government Girls Secondary School Chibok in in Borno State north-eastern Nigeria on March 25, 2016. The army has been accused of rape. PHOTO | STEFAN HEUNIS | AFP
What you need to know:
- Brigadier General Agim said that the accusations were becoming a another form of terrorist affront.
The Nigeria Army has denied accusations of sexual misconduct by the Amnesty International (AI).
Amnesty International claims that the troops sexually abused and raped female internally displaced persons (IDP) at camps in the country’s northeast.
Brigadier General John Agim, the acting Director of Defence Information, on Saturday told journalists that the accusations were becoming a "another form of terrorist affront outside that of Boko Haram".
"In the armed forces, we maintain that we do not condone rape and do not have rapists among us.
"The military has several measures in place to regulate the conduct of troops and to define their relationships with members of their host communities," Brig-Gen Agim said.
"Amnesty International has not only positioned itself as an enemy of the Nigerian Army but the country as a whole," he added.
Brig-Gen Agim was leading a team from the Nigerian forces to investigate the claims at IDP camps in Maiduguri, Borno state.
In a recent report titled They betrayed us, Amnesty International said five women were raped by soldiers or Civilian JTF members — a loose group of militants — while they were starving at Bama Camp in late 2015 and early 2016.
AI also said 10 other women had been coerced to become the "girlfriend" to a soldier at the camp in order to access basic goods.
