Insurgents subject women, girls to servitude, sex slavery –Report
The militant Islamist sect, Boko Haram, gives out abducted young girls
and women to its members as wives, the 2014 Trafficking in Persons
Report, has stated.
It said that through forced marriages, the women and girls are subjected to sex slavery, domestic servitude and forced labour.
The report, which covered 2013, noted that the sect recruited
children as foot soldiers, was obtained from the United States
Department of State on Tuesday. The report was posted on www.state.gov on June 20.
“International observers had reported in 2013 that the terrorist group,
Boko Haram, recruited and used child soldiers as young as 12-years-old,
as well as abducted women and girls some of whom were subjected to
domestic servitude, forced labour, and sex slavery through forced
marriages to its militants,” a part of the report read.
It
observed that the Federal Government had yet to fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
But
the report noted that the government was making significant efforts
to do so by increasing anti-trafficking prosecutions and convictions.
It also observed that the government was providing extensive
specialised anti-trafficking training to officials from relevant
ministries and agencies.
It said the National Agency for the
Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other -Related Matters had
increased protection efforts by developing a formal referral mechanism
for victims’ protection.
The agency, according to the report,
is also increasing the capacity of its shelters and identifying and
providing services to a larger number of victims.
A part of the
report read, “Despite these efforts, the government has yet to pass
draft legislation that would restrict the ability of judges to offer
fines in lieu of prison time during sentencing and, with the exception
of receiving training from NAPTIP, the Ministry of Labour did not make
any new efforts to address labour trafficking during the reporting
period.
“Additionally, despite the growing number of Nigerian
trafficking victims identified abroad, the government has yet to
implement formal procedures for the return and reintegration of Nigerian
victims; consequently, many victims are not afforded adequate care upon
their return to Nigeria.”
It noted that this was of particular
concern, as some European countries deny Nigerian victims’ asylum and
access to European victim programmes .
The report also
observed that the provisions of the 2003 Trafficking in Persons Law
Enforcement and Administration Act, ensured that identified trafficking
victims were not penalised for unlawful acts committed as a result of
being trafficked.
The TIPR said officials encouraged victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.
It said that NAPTIP reported that 32 victims served as witnesses or gave evidence during trial in the reporting period.
The report added that all victims were eligible to receive funds from
the victims’ trust fund financed primarily through confiscated assets of
convicted traffickers.
It said that during the reporting
period (2013), $20,000 was disbursed among 47 victims for various
purposes ranging from vocational training to tuition.
The
government, it noted, provided a limited legal alternative—short term
residency that could not be extended to the removal of foreign victims
to countries where they might face hardship or retribution.
The
report described Nigeria as a source, transit and destination country
for women and children subjected to forced labour and sex,.
It noted that trafficked victims were recruited from rural and, to a lesser extent, urban areas within the country.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that it has yet to confirm
the reported kidnap of 60 women in the Chibok and Damboa Local
Government Areas of Borno State.
The Chairman of the National
Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, who stated this in an a telephone
interview with The PUNCH in Abuja on Tuesday, also commented on a
statement credited to a lawyer close to Boko Haram, Hajia Aisha Wakil.
He said that government could not act on claims in the media.
Wakil had on Al-Jazeera said on Monday that the sect was demanding amnesty and rehabilitation.
She had said, “They want to be given amnesty, rehabilitated and allowed to come back home and move freely.
I told them not to hold the girls as ransom and to give me the sick
ones-and that was where we ended. The girls are a growing burden to
them.”
Reacting to the statement, Omeri said that he was not aware that Boko Haram had appointed Wakil as its spokesperson.
He said, “I have not heard it (the interview on Al-Jazerra). Secondly,
the lady knows where to present the views of Boko Haram. If she has been
appointed by Boko Haram, we would have known.
“Did you hear
them say they have appointed her as their spokesperson? Boko Haram has
not told us specifically who they have appointed. We cannot act on
spurious claims on pages of newspapers or on Al-Jazeera.”
On the abduction of 60 women in Borno on Monday, he said he had not confirmed the kidnap.
He stated, “Everybody I checked with said he heard from someone.
Nobody has confirmed the abduction of 60 women including people from
Damboa. I have spoken to quite a number of people; I have asked from the
media that reported it. They said they heard from somebody.
“I checked from the local government Information officer.
‘‘He said that he heard from somebody.
“For me, up till now, I have not confirmed.
‘‘Everybody I spoke with said he heard from somebody, including the sources the newspapers have quoted.”
Asked whether it was convenient to say that the government had not
confirmed the kidnap of the women, he said, “Yes, because all the
sources claimed they heard from somebody and that somebody is not
identified by anybody.”
The state Governor, Kashim Shettima has
however directed the chairmen of the Damboa LGA chairman and
stakeholders to “make very urgent but accurate enquiries from
communities and report to him as soon as they can even as security
agencies take appropriate actions.”
Shettima, who expressed
“serious concerns about the reported abduction, said in a statement
on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Communication, Isa Gusau, that
information concerning the issue required careful enquiry.
The statement read in part, “The governor… calls for patience at all
times so that collectively, the media and government can in giving out
information, be sure of exactly what happened, how it happened, when and
who is or are involved.’’
Pages
▼
6/25/2014
Insurgents subject women, girls to servitude, sex slavery –Report
Like the Post? Kindly share with your Friends.
COPYRIGHT. FIRSTCLASS NEWSLINE: All rights reserved.Every publication,material and other content on this site should not in anyway be reproduced,published,rewritten or copied wthout adding this site address link,name or giving credit to the site.Failure to do this will attract severe battle in the court of law or reporting of any site found guilty over intellectual property theft.
Related News
Subscribe by Email and Get Free Updates on my Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment
To get the world and your friends informed.. Feel free to share every news you read on this site on any web or on any social network by clicking on the SHARE BUTTON ABOVE or share it by any other means but ensure to always share with the site link(web address) for reference and to avoid being SUED for intellectual theft.......post a comment after reading as well..,...we are here to serve you the best
use anonymous to post a comment if necessary