March 20, 2024

The Nigerian Military has urged the Nigeria human rights commission (NHRC) panel to absolve it from all the allegations contained in the Reuters report pf secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast which has generated concerns.

Also at the resumed sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, the Military presented its address to the panel pleading non-complicit to the allegations.

The Nigerian military has previously said that the report was not true.

The NHRC which is appointed by the government, established a special panel, in February 2023 to investigate the allegations and has been conducting hearings in the capital Abuja and in northeastern Borno state.

PoliticalEconomistng reports that Reuters reported in December 2022, based on dozens of witness accounts and documentation, that the military abortion programme involved terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants.

The NHRC in a post on X, said the Chairman of the SIIP North East Justice Abdu Aboki (rtd) after the day’s proceedings announced the conclusion of the panel’s hearing which started in February 2022.

The commission however did not say when it would be ready with its findings and whether these would be made public.