Reuter’s Report: NHRC Clears Military Of Human Rights Abuses

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC’s) special independent investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East Nigeria (SIIP-North East) has cleared the Nigerian military of alleged gross human rights violations.

The seven-member panel chaired by a former Supreme Court judge, Justice Abdul Aboki, which yesterday in Abuja presented the report of its investigation levelled against the Nigerian military by Reuters also said investigations carried out by the SIIP had not found enough evidence to prove the allegations.

In his opening remarks, Justice Aboki reflected on the report which prompted the NHRC in February 2023 to constitute the SIIP.

He said the report which was published by Reuters earlier in December 2022 alleged that the military was conducting a secret and systematic abortion programme involving at least 10,000 forced abortions on women in the North East, adding that Reuters alleged that the Nigerian military, apart from engaging in deliberate killing of children to prevent them from being future insurgents, also committed sexual violence and physical abuses on women and girls domiciled within military camps across the region.

Shortly after the panel’s chairman, Justice Aboki, had commended the commission for the trust reposed in members of his panel, and the cooperation enjoyed from stakeholders, particularly the Borno and Yobe state governments as well as the military headquarters while on their fact finding mission, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna, the head of secretariat and general counsel of the panel put out the findings of the SIIP to include:

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“The SIIP North-East notes that the inability of the media agency, Reuters to appear before the panel or collaborate in any form to provide information and access to witness testimonies to support the grave allegations on the illegal and forced abortions and the massacre of children by men of the Nigerian Army at the water hole in Kukawa, raises doubt on the validity of their alleged source of information.”

“The panel notes with concern that Reuters based its allegations on the 2020 waterhole massacre in Kukawa on a reconstruction of facts based on accounts of a soldier and four civilians. Reuters’ reconstruction of the event is not supported by evidence presented to the panel by witnesses and observations made by the panel during its visit to Kukawa. A number of the allegations including those in war on women are of human rights violations committed by the insurgent Boko Haram and does not fall within the purview of the mandate of the SIIP North-East.

“Our findings shows that there is no evidence on the Reuter’s report on war against women as well as girls dying from forced abortions performed by the Nigerian military,” he stated.

The panel further advised international organisations working in the humanitarian ecosystem to subject themselves to the highest standards of probity and accountability which they demand of others, including from state institutions, adding that non-cooperation with human rights inquisitions only shows an absolute lack of respect for national human rights institutions and mechanisms.