Panel Absolves Military Of Reuters’ Allegation Of 10,000 Forced Abortion, Children Massacre

By Bular BOLORI

The Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violation in Counter-Insurgency Operations in North-East Nigeria (SIIP-North East) on Friday submitted its report to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The panel was set up by NHRC to investigate Reuters’ allegations of human rights violation in the North Eastern region of the country by the Nigerian Army in its ongoing operations against insurgency in the area.

In the report of the seven-member panel chaired by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Abdu Aboki, received by the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, the Nigerian military was absolved of the allegation of forced illegal abortions and massacre of children as alleged by Reuters, a foreign media agency.

According to the report presented by the General Counsel to the Panel, Mr. Hillary Ogbona, who is also the Senior Human Right Adviser to the NHRC boss: “The panel did not find evidence that the Nigerian Armed Forces committed a systematic, secret, or policy-driven abortion in the North-East to the tune of 10,000 abortions”.

The report said, the Panel found that, the Nigerian military had no agreement with any civilian healthcare institution to forcibly and illegally terminate pregnancies in the North-East.

Part of the report stated that: “There was no evidence before the panel to prove that. The panel found probability, based on witness testimony, that the NGO, Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) was engaged in abortion procedures for some years in the North East through its medical facilities that it operated”.

For smuggled, poisoned, and shot, which was also alleged by Reuters, Ogbona said, the panel did not find the Military culpable for the massacre of children in Kukawa, in Dasarua, in Abagano, and in many parts of Marte.

The report said, the panel found the military culpable of infanticide and the killing of community members in a village of Adisawe, in Marte local government area of Borno State, on the 16th of June, 2016, and that, the panel received witness testimonies, including those of survivors and relations of the deceased.

In terms of war on women, the SIIP-North-East also absolved the military, stating that the panel did not find that the Nigeria Armed Forces specifically targeted women in military camps or in IDP camps, adding that it did not find evidence to that effect.

“Rather, the panel found evidence from military sources and civilian sources, especially women and girls who are still in military custody and who have left internal displaced camps, that the military took care of them while they were in camps. A lot of them gave birth to children while they were in camps as well, and we saw evidence of all of those”, the report added.

The panel, in its recommendations contained in the report urged the Federal Government to compensate the victims of the killings in Abisare in Marte Local Government within 90 days of the receipt of the report.

It also recommended that the NHRC should work out a compensation regime and recommend same to the Federal Government within a period of 30 days from the receipt of the report and that, Nigerian Armed Forces and other appropriate authorities to constitute a Court Martial to prosecute suspected officers and men of the Defunct 8 Task Force Division, Monguno who were operational in Abisare, Marte Local Government of Borno State in June 2016 or other units of the Nigerian Armed Forces who were operational at the location within the same period.

The Panel also recommended the retirement of suspected officers and men of the Defunct 8 Task Force Division, Monguno who were operational in Abisare, Marte in June 2016 or other units of the Nigerian Armed Forces who were operational at the location within the same period.

It advised the Borno state Government to provide basic social facilities such as schools, hospitals and recreational centres in the recovered communities, especially in Kukawa and environs, ensuring that children in the communities have access to basic education and adequate social development.

It also advised that the Borno state government develop and execute within six months of the submission of the report, in collaboration with the Nigerian Armed Forces and the UN System, a contextual standard of assessment of security situations in post-conflict communities prior to initiating the return of communities as well as a comprehensive economic and social empowerment programme for women recovering from conflict in the state.

The panel also recommended the strengthening of the mandate of the NHRC to play an oversight, monitoring and reporting roles in integrating human rights principles in the counter-insurgency operations and the rehabilitation, detention and prosecution of terrorist suspects, among others.

The Government and Military leadership, the report said, should implement robust protections for whistle-blowers who report human rights abuses within the military, ensuring they are safeguarded from retaliation and that, the Nigerian Military should ensure that all military operations are conducted without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, or other statuses, respecting the human rights of all individuals involved.

Ogbona said, the panel’s report which took 18 months of thorough investigations, testimonies of 199 witnesses and visit to 20 field locations to produce would not only stand the test of time in terms of its thoroughness, but also in terms of the fact that the panel made almost good of a hopeless situation.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the panel, Justice Abdu Aboki, said the challenges of conducting an investigation in a volatile environment as well as the non-appearance of Reuters and a few other key institutions made the Panel worked longer and more extensively, broadening its investigations and reach.

He revealed that the report include analyses of documentations and records received from state hospitals and the Nigerian military and several aspects of the investigative processes that would be instrumental in framing human rights accountability mechanism as well as the criminal justice system in Nigeria.

Aboki, who said the report is informative and would serve as a guide or future reference material for future Panels, highlighted the non-appearance of Reuters and the lack of cooperation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) as major challenges faced by the panel in the course of its investigation.

He called for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report by the NHRC, the Federal and State governments, the Nigerian military, UN Agencies and NGOs working in the region.

Receiving the report, the NHRC boss said, the report embodies months of dedicated work in response to allegations of gross violations of human rights against the Nigerian Armed Forces reported in December 2022 by Reuters.

In the three-part report, he said, Reuters alleged that the Nigerian Military conducted illegal and forced termination of 10,000 pregnancies, extrajudicial killing of children, and the violation of the rights of women through targeted attacks during counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.

In response to the grave concerns, the NHRC, empowered by Sections 5 and 6 of the NHRC Act which gives it the mandate to receive complaints, investigate human rights violations in Nigeria and make appropriate determination and compensation to victims of human rights violations, established the independent panel to conduct a thorough and unbiased investigation.

The work of the panel, he said reflects a major contribution by the NHRC in ongoing efforts to ensure accountability and uphold human rights standards in Nigeria and assured of the commitment of the Commission to justice, transparency, and accountability to any form of human rights violation associated with conflict and insurgency.

He said, the findings and recommendations of the Panel, which offer both clarity and a call for action will instigate and inspire multi-stakeholder partnerships in humanitarian response in the North-East.

“They underscore the complexities and human costs of counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria’s North-East and provide a blueprint for meaningful reform. They highlight the urgent need for transparency within our security forces and the establishment of mechanisms to protect civilians.

“As part of our commitment to ensuring the panel’s recommendations are fully realized, the NHRC will be embarking upon series of public consultations and conversations on the report.

“The first of this series will be taking place in Maiduguri next week. We plan to host similar forums in Damaturu and Yola. In December, NHRC plans to host a Civil-Military Forum where the report and its implementation strategies will be discussed with all stakeholders.

“Additionally, the NHRC will work closely with military and medical institutions to foster respect for human rights in humanitarian situations.”

The NHRC is committed to ensuring that citizens of Abisari community identified in the report receive compensation and will continue to work with the military and the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that justice is served.

“The NHRC will liaise with our UN partners to propose human rights-based programs focused on the resettlement and reintegration of returnees and vulnerable populations, including children affected by conflict”, he added.

Ojukwu also said, the Commission is dedicated to actively monitoring progress and ensuring that every recommendation of the panel is pursued to the fullest.

It would be recalled that, in December 2022, Reuters published “Nightmare in Nigeria,” a three-part investigative report alleging series of systematic gross human rights violations by the Nigerian military during counter-insurgency operations in the North-East region.

These violations, the Reuters said, are targeted women and children, involving mass abortions and systematic killings of women and children.