Human rights group Amnesty International has called on the Federal Government to investigate what it described as “credible allegations of rampant corruption” made by victims of the Boko Haram insurgency at various Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps.

It made the demand in a series of tweets on Friday to commemorate the celebration of International Women’s Day.

“There were protests at the Shettima Ali Monguno and Teachers Village camps in Maiduguri in February over lack of food, ill-treatment and corruption,” the group said.

It further accused the Nigerian authorities of continuing to fail thousands of women who fled their homes as a result of the activities of the insurgents.

Amnesty International noted that this comes almost a year after its investigation revealed the “patterns of abuse by the security forces.”

“Many of these women still struggle to access food and other basic items in camps for IDP’s and are restricted from leaving.

“Those who speak up about their ordeal face harassment from government officials, particularly the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA),” it alleged.

The group decried that the combination of movement restrictions and lack of assistance has left female IDPs at increased risk of sexual exploitation allegedly by security operatives present in and around the camps.

According to it, the Boko Haram conflict forced thousands of women to live in squalid conditions in IDP camps.

Amnesty International, however, insisted that it was the responsibility of the Nigerian authorities to protect the women and bring all those suspected of exploiting them to justice.

•Sourced from a Channels TV report

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