Amnesty International (AI) has spoken about allegations of rape of some commercial ladies in Abuja by some men of the Nigeria Police.
The ladies had made the claim after they were arrested during a raid by the agents of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Joint Task Team, which comprised the Department of Development Control, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the Social Development Secretariat (SDS).
In a reaction posted on its verified Twitter page, the Amnesty International condemned the raid and rape of Abuja ladies by the law enforcement officials.
It described the harassment of women by Police as gender discrimination and unconstitutional.
The tweet reads: “The continued harassment of women by the FCT joint task force and police should stop immediately as it constitutes gender discrimination, a violation of human rights, is unlawful, unconstitutional and carried out with total disregard for the rule of law. “
Meanwhile, ASP Danjuma Gajere Tanimu, spokesman of the command, in a statement on Friday said probe had commenced on case of alleged rape by its men.
He said: “The Command as a responsible corporate citizen, views the allegations seriously. Consequently, a high powered team was constituted to investigate the veracity of the allegation.
”In this regard invitations were sent out to relevant individuals that may assist in getting to the root of the matter.
”The Command wishes to assure members of the public of its zero tolerance for unprofessional disregard to human rights and stiff punishments will be meted out to erring officers.”