Military Headquarters Asks Nigerian Human Rights Commission To Probe Reuters Report’s Abortion, Infanticide Claims In North-East

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has urged the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to investigate allegations of abortion and infanticide carried out on some women and children in the North East.

Outrage has continued to trail the investigation report of an international news wire agency, Reuters, that claimed that the Nigerian military forcefully terminated the pregnancies of arrested and detained Boko Haram women.

The report also claimed that military authorities extra-judicially killed children of terrorists, for fear of them taking after their parents.

SaharaReporters had reported that the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, also called on the Nigerian government to investigate the allegation.

While the Nigerian military and President Muhammadu Buhari’s government had dismissed the report, describing it as evil, Irabor on Friday called NHRC to investigate the report.

The CDS made the call when he paid a visit to the NHRC Headquarters in Abuja, adding that the leadership of the Nigerian military welcomed an independent and thorough probe by a neutral organisation.

“Being an institution that is guided by law, we deemed it fit to call on the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the allegations, with a view to getting to the bottom of the issues raised. That is why we are here formally,” he said.

Irabor, who assured the Executive Secretary of NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, and his management team, that their doors would be open for them to conduct a thorough investigation, noted that their officers would also be available to answer their questions.

He said: “We want you to conduct a thorough investigation. And by the time you decide to do so, you can be assured that we will grant you unfettered access to all of our military establishments not only in the North East, but across the country.

“We have always adhered to the tenets of international humanitarian laws, while also abiding by our professional ethical codes, together with the military Standard Operation Procedures, in all that we do in the North East, and other parts of the country.”

Responding, Ojukwu said the request of the defence chief was in line with the determination of their commission to investigate the Reuters’ allegations because of the human rights implications.

He said the commission would soon announce further steps in the near future towards the constitution of the Panel of Investigation into the Reuters’ report.

Source:- Saharareporters

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