Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
The acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Adamu Mohammed, has said men of the Nigeria Police Force involved in the mass raping of women suspected to be prostitutes in the Abuja metropolis will be punished.
Mohammed said this shortly after he appeared before the Senate to brief the lawmakers on the efforts being made by the police to tackle the spate of killings, kidnappings and banditry across Nigeria.
Some policemen had recently raided clubs, pubs and hotels in the Federal Capital Territory, after which some of the over 70 women arrested for allegedly being prostitutes, accused the policemen of raping them.
The women, who were arrested for alleged prostitution at different hotels and night clubs in Abuja on April 27, alleged that the policemen released victims who gave them money.
They also said that some of the security officers who forcefully had sex with them did not use condom, while a few others reportedly used ‘pure water’ sachet in place of condom during the sexual assault.
The police boss, when asked by journalists what the Force was doing to address the women’s accusation, said, “Well, the raiding of the women (sic), it was by a task force of the Federal Capital Territory. They came out to do their job and they requested the police to support them, which the police did.
“Women were arrested and charged and they were convicted, which means that they committed offence within the FCT.
“But the action by the police officers, that they were alleged to have raped and molested the women, we have set up a panel to investigate, and anybody caught or proved to have done that will face the law.”
The Federal Capital Territory Police Command had said it had set up a high-powered team to probe the allegations of sexual and physical assault levelled against its men at the Utako Police Station, Abuja, by the convicted prostitutes.
- PUNCH
