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Nigerian soldiers accused of stripping female protesters naked

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The Nigerian army is embroiled in yet another human rights predicament after allegations that officers stripped naked scores of women protesting for the independence of a volatile region in the south of the country.

The Indigenous People of the Biafra (IPOB) alleged the women were molested before their arrest in the Abia State, where they had gathered to protest for the autonomy of the Biafra, a region formerly independent but annexed by Nigeria after a war that ended in 1970.

IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful alleged that government forces laid siege on Abiriba city before beating the women protestors, stripping some of them naked and taking them to nearby barracks.

Powerful condemned the violations as “the highest form of criminal brutality” by the army.

The spokesperson called for the intervention of the world’s most eminent women, including British Queen Elizabeth II.

The accusations are the latest scandal involving the Nigerian army, which has previously been accused of killing some members of IPOB and the Islamic Movement.

In February, some officers were demoted and jailed for 21 days for brutally assaulting a wheelchair-bound man found wearing camouflage in South Eastern Anambra State.

Rights groups have further accused the army of rights violations during the war against Boko Haram in the north.

Colonel Sagir Musa, deputy army spokesperson, denied the allegations by IPOB. He dismissed the reports as “comical” and “hilarious”.

Musa says the army was training troops on civilian protection and respect for human rights in conflict.

“The allegation, just like others before it, is false and sheer IPOB’s propaganda to discredit the Nigerian army. They will not succeed.”

– By ANA

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