As part of its campaign against rape and all forms of sexual violence, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), visited the headquarters of the Nigeria Police force in Abuja in continuation of its 5days of activism to draw public attention to the rise in the cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence and also deliver a letter of protest to the Inspector General of Police.
Leading the Rally/Walk with the theme: “Equality and Dignity for Nigerian Women”, the Executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, BARR. TONY OJUKWU ESQ said the rally is a peaceful protest to sensitive the public and also draw attention of policy makers to the issues of rape and other forms of sexual violence in our society.
Receiving the protesters on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, IGP MUHAMMED ADAMU, the force public relations officer, DCP FRANK MBA thanked the protesters for the visit and promised that the Police force will tackle to a standstill not only cases of rape and all forms of sexual violence but all forms of crimes and criminalities in its totality.
In his words: “On behalf of the inspector General of Police, the Force management team and the entire men of the Nigeria Police force, we welcome you all to the Force headquarters at the Louis Edet House, Abuja.
“The cause you are fighting for is a cause that falls squarely under our constitutional and statutory mandate as police officers”
“It is one of our responsibilities to fight crime”, MBA said.
“It is our responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for Nigerians to thrive and live to conduct their social economic activities without any form of harassment”
“Therefore we see your campaign and sensitization work as a form of collaboration. We see you as partners.
“On behalf of the IGP we reaffirm our commitment to the partnership, we will work with you”
“We challenge other citizens to take a cue from the NHRC, the NBA, NAPTIP and other civil society organisation to join forces together and break the conspiracy of silence”
“we call on all who has a role to play to join the campaign and help raise generation of men who will abhor rape, and a generation of women who will abhor sexual molestation of minors” he said.
The 5-day of Activism to draw attention to cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence is an initiative of the National human Rights Commission in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, the Nigeria Police Force, Spotlight Initiative, the Media and other civil society groups.
