Nigeria’s FIDA facilitates arrests of armed gang rapists in Plateau

NIGERIA

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria’s northcentral Plateau State, said the long arm of the law has caught up with the serial armed gang rapists terrorising the local community of Mangu Local Government Area of the State.

FIDA said the rapists were consistently for the past three months, raping teenage girls and women in the community of Mangun under Mangu LGA without any member of the community making attempt to report to the Police.

FIDA State Chairperson, Barrister Mary Izam, disclosed this to our correspondent on Wednesday, after a strategic advocacy visit to the Commissioner of Police, Edward Egbuka, to thank him for the prompt response in arresting the rapists.

Izam said FIDA learnt about the bandits during a project sponsored by Ford Foundation on women advocacy, and while interacting with women leaders, one of them spoke up on the devastating issue.

According to her: “For the past three months, the rapists well-armed, moved from house to house raping young girls in turns, in front of their parents”, Izam said.

The FIDA Plateau boss said when they heard of it they quickly wrote to the Commissioner of Police, and the Minster of Women Affairs.

She said with the swift response of the Police the gang was rounded up and are currently cooling off in Police detention waiting to be tried in court.

Plateau FIDA is currently seeking for interests and protection of vulnerable children and women, soliciting partnership with the relevant gatekeepers of Sexual and Gender Base Violence (SGBV) challenges, especially in the rural communities, the FIDA boss said.