The human right organisation via its Twitter handle on Saturday said the attempt by the Nigeria Police Force to intimidate and harass the Dakolos is a reflection of a disturbing trend on how victims of sexual assault are treated in the country.
On Saturday fully armed men of the Nigeria Police Force stormed the home of the Dakolos to take them to Abuja. Following public outcry on various social media platforms the police claimed they were there to invite Busola Dakolo for an investigation of matters of criminal conspiracy, falsehood, mischief and threat to life.
We can recall that Busola (Timi Dakolo’s) wife has earlier on accused the pastor and founder of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) of serially raping her when she was a teenager, an allegation which the pastor has denied.
In reaction to the police invasion of the Dakolos house, the Nigerian chapter of Amnesty International said intimidating victims of sexual abuse with the use of the police was a new low in the country’s cases of impunity.
“Attempts to intimidate and harass Timi and Busola Dakolo by the Nigeria Police show a disturbing pattern of how authorities respond to allegations of sexual abuse. In February, armed SARS officers arrested Maryam Awaisu of #ArewaMeToo in Kaduna and dragged her to Abuja, at the instance of a person widely accused of rape and sexual abuse.
“For too long, Nigeria’s women have been facing various kinds of sexual violence that seldom receives proper attention from the country’s law enforcement agencies. It is unacceptable that women seeking justice end up intimidated by Nigeria Police.
“It is unacceptable that women seeking justice for sexual abuse are subjected to arrest and intimidation by a unit of police whose remit is armed robbery. We fear that these actions may prevent victims of sexual violence from pursuing justice.
“In the face of rising sexual abuse of women and girls across Nigeria, for how long will women be continuously subjected to intimidation and forced silence in the face of injustice? When will the injustice end?
“This pattern of Nigerian police dispatching anti-robbery squads to pick up victims of sexual abuse who refused to be silent is unacceptable.”