Police cautions #BBOG group over March to Aso Villa

The Nigeria Police Force has expressed concern over the activities of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group. The group has been embarking on regular protests at the Presidential Villa in Abuja calling for the immediate release of the abducted Chibok girls. Speaking at a meeting in Abuja with the National President of National Council for Women Societies (NCWS), the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris said the activities of the #BBOG campaign group had become increasingly worrisome and a threat to public peace and order. He said that the “#Bring Back Our Girls protagonist must understand that in the exercise of their rights, they must not trample on other people’s rights through over dramatisation of emotions, self serving propaganda and disrespect of public holders.” The newly commissioned IGP urged the group to tread with caution by channelling their grievances within the ambit of the law, while also adding that the Police will not sit back and watch the rights of Nigerians being trampled upon. “Procession carried out by these groups should be in accordance with the law so as to avoid miscreants seizing the opportunity to cause disturbance to public peace. “While exercising their constitutional rights to assemble freely, they should be mindful of freedom of other persons. Pressure groups should not resort to arm twisting the government in order to achieve their aim,” he warned. Meanwhile, the National President, National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) Gloria Shoda, called for an immediate solution to the reported cases of rape alleged against policemen, while also calling on the Inspector General of Police to perfect the operational systems of attending to such incidents. She stressed that cases of rape should be fully investigated and the law should be allowed to take its full course where such reports have been found to merit prosecution. “Research has shown impunity is rife and that, too many incidents go unreported because of attitudes towards victims and the lack of confidence in the prosecutorial system,” she said.