EU and British Council train 20 Adamawa policemen on how to deal with rape and gender-based violence

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and British Council experts have helped train 20 policemen in Adamawa State on modern day techniques to combat rape and gender-based violence in response to the growing cases of the crime across the state.

Disturbed by the growing and rampant cases of sexual violence in Adamawa State, the international community decided to intervene in the matter. Consequently, the EU and British Council offered a series of programmes, assistance and sensitisation training to local policemen from the Adamawa State Police Command on how to handle rape and gender based violence.

In addition, the policemen who were selected from four divisions in the state were also equipped with working tools to enable them discharge the skills they acquire optimally. Professor Muhammad Tabiu, the programme manager of Managing Conflict in Nigeria, handed over some Family Support Unit items to the Nigeria Police Force for use by the trainees, stating that Adamawa was the first state to benefit from the programme in Nigeria.

He noted that the training would strengthen the capacity of the police to resolve cases of sexual assault and gender based violence. Professor Tabiu added that in order to ensure the swift dispensation of justice to victims, his organisation has established links with the ministry of justice, the ministry of women affairs, security outfits and the state specialist hospital for referral cases.

Furthermore, Professor Tabiu added that with the establishment of a comprehensive system in the state, it will be difficult for culprits involved in rape and gender-based violence to escape punishment. He said he regretted that in the past, culprits of such offences found themselves on the streets within a couple of days or months.

Professor Tabiu said: “On the release of such suspects, only God knows how they are perfected. Either from the courts or the police, it still remains a big question we cannot answer.”

He also noted that his organisation had trained 100 traditional rulers and youths from internally displaced persons camps with the necessary skills to support themselves. Abdullahi Yerima the Adamawa state police commissioner thanked the British Council for its support promising that he would ensure that the facilities given to the four police commands would be used optimally and effectively.

Mr Yerima, who emphasised his zero tolerance for rape and gender-based violence said he would ensure that anyone involved in such crimes was punished according to Nigeria’s laws. He argued that the increasing cases of such violence was a source for concern for every discerning Nigerian and warned policemen in the state to desist from compromising and interfering in such cases or face the full wrath of the law.