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Boko Haram: Nigerian officials 'sexually abusing' victims | Boko Haram: Nigerian officials 'sexually abusing' victims |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Women and girls in several camps in the Nigerian town of Maiduguri are being sexually abused by officials, a rights group says. | Women and girls in several camps in the Nigerian town of Maiduguri are being sexually abused by officials, a rights group says. |
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had spoken to 43 victims who had been raped or sexually exploited by vigilante groups and security officials. | Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had spoken to 43 victims who had been raped or sexually exploited by vigilante groups and security officials. |
The president has ordered an investigation into the alleged abuses. | |
Islamist militant group Boko Haram's insurgency has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced. | Islamist militant group Boko Haram's insurgency has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced. |
Many of those forced from their homes have fled to camps around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. | Many of those forced from their homes have fled to camps around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri. |
However, the HRW report says some of them have suffered abuse in those camps. | However, the HRW report says some of them have suffered abuse in those camps. |
Some said they had been coerced into sex and abandoned when they became pregnant. | Some said they had been coerced into sex and abandoned when they became pregnant. |
"It is disgraceful and outrageous that people who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them," said HRW's Mausi Segun. | "It is disgraceful and outrageous that people who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them," said HRW's Mausi Segun. |
The group said irregular supplies of food, clothing, medicine and other essentials in internally displaced camps in Maiduguri had made women and girls - many of whom are widows and unaccompanied orphans - more vulnerable. | The group said irregular supplies of food, clothing, medicine and other essentials in internally displaced camps in Maiduguri had made women and girls - many of whom are widows and unaccompanied orphans - more vulnerable. |
In response to the report, President Muhammadu Buhari said he was "worried and shocked" and vowed to protect those in the camps. | |
He ordered the police and state governors to investigate. | |
Hundreds of refugees, including children, starved to death in one of the camps earlier this year, causing a "catastrophic humanitarian emergency", according to medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. | |
'Drugged and raped' | |
Four people told HRW they had been drugged and raped; 37 others said they had been coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance. | |
A 16-year-old girl who fled a brutal Boko Haram attack on Baga in northern Borno in January 2015 said she had been drugged and raped by a vigilante in charge of distributing aid in the camp. | |
"He would bring me food items like rice and spaghetti so I believed he really wanted to marry me," the girl said. | |
"But he was also asking me for sex. I always told him I was too small [young]. The day he raped me, he offered me a drink in a cup. As soon as I drank it, I slept off. | |
"I knew something was wrong when I woke up. I was in pain and blood was coming out of my private part. I did not tell anyone because I was afraid," she recounted. | |
She said she became pregnant but her attacker fled the camp when he heard she had delivered. | |
Boko Haram at a glance: | |
'Boko Haram took my children' | |
Town divided by Boko Haram legacy | |
On patrol against Boko Haram | |
Who are Boko Haram? |
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