President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has said that the Senate will continue to do all within its power to ensure that alleged sexual abuse and violence against Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) at camps in the North East and across the country are not covered up.

Saraki according to a statement by his Special Assistant on New Media, Olu Onemola, said this while receiving the Amnesty International (AI) 2017/18 Report on ‘The State of the World’s Human Rights’ and the organisation’s report on women who survived Boko Haram but were later maltreated, from its Country Director, Mrs. Osai Ojigho, in Abuja.

He stated that the country, being an important part of the comity of nations, must continue to lead by example by doing the right thing.

“By getting it right, we must be able to accept where these issues exist and work with partners like you, to be able to establish facts,” Saraki said. “We have already set up a panel on your IDP report. By doing this, we can establish where sanctions need to be meted out.”

He added: “You have our assurance that nothing will be covered up. Not just for the purpose of disciplining people, but for the purpose of preventing reoccurrence. By doing this, we can help to ensure that people will change in their approach.

“Our people are already going through a lot of hardship in the IDP camps, they do not need this. We must stand and be there for them. In this regard, I am very keen to see the committee work very closely with you to resolve this — so that the administration of justice is achieved and people will get a fair hearing.”

Earlier, the Country Director of AI, Mrs. Ojigho, said that the visit was meant to commend the Senate for setting up a panel to investigate the allegations contained in the report.

“We think it is a good sign of progress and a willingness to find out the truth regarding the incidents that have been happening and we hope that it will bring recourse to the women victims and their families in their quest to seek justice.

“We also want to commend the work of the National Assembly in passing and reforming our laws, particularly the Anti-Torture Law that was signed by the President in December. We believe that this would go a long way in addressing the issue of torture, particularly by our security forces in Nigeria,” the Country Director said.

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