Amnesty International Nigeria condemns “attempts to intimidate & harass Timi & Busola Dakolo”

Amnesty International Nigeria, in a statement on Saturday, condemned what it described as “attempts to intimidate & harass Timi & Busola Dakolo“.

Busola Dakolo had, in an interview, accused Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA of raping her twice, when she was 16.

Timi Dakolo had raised alarm after seeing a bus with armed men in front of his house. The bus was later confirmed to be a police-registered vehicle.

See the Amnesty International Nigeria statement:

Security and safety of Timi & Busola Dakolo rest with Nigerian authorities.

Intimidating victims of sexual abuse using @PoliceNG is a new low in Nigeria’s spate of impunity.

Attempts to intimidate and harass Timi & Busola Dakolo by the Nigeria Police @PoliceNG shows a disturbing pattern of how authorities respond to allegations of sexual abuse.

In Feb. 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 & 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 @PoliceNG

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 & 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?

Our report of Nov. 2006: The Nigeria Police is notorious for persistent human rights violations. We received credible reports that women have been raped by the police in the street, while being transferred to police stations and while in police custody.

This pattern of Nigeria Police @PoliceNG dispatching anti-robbery squads to pick up victims of sexual abuse who refused to be silent is unacceptable.