Cases of rape of female citizens by policemen have been on the increase in Nigeria, research conducted by a coalition of non-governmental associations has revealed.

THISDAY notes that an 18-page report on its year-long monitoring of more than 400 police stations, the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria claimed that police killing, torture, extortion and rape had become routine because the authorities shield their personnel from the legal consequences. The report claimed that 'the (police force) is now a danger to public safety and security and the conduct of its personnel could be the cause of a major public health and mortality emergency on a national scale'. According to the report, thousands of detainees are killed annually in encounters with the police; hundreds of detainees die from injuries sustained during police torture; custodial conditions in police cells cause and spread infectious diseases; while allegations of rape by police personnel raise the risk of trauma injuries to the victims, as well as the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The findings come after chief of police Mike Okiro last month said police had killed 785 armed robbery suspects in his first three months in office. His comments drew criticism from Human Rights Watch. According to a report on the News24 site, Okiro defended the killings as an appropriate response to the large number of armed robberies. The police deny that they practise torture, although former President Olusegun Obasanjo once acknowledged that they did. UN experts have said the police often open fire unnecessarily.
Full THISDAY report
Full report on the News24 site