NHRC begins investigation into alleged 10,000 forced abortions

The National Human Rights Commission will investigate the report that the Nigerian military has been running a secret abortion program since at least 2013 that has resulted in the termination of about 10,000 pregnancies, executive secretary Tony Ojukwu (SAN) said Tuesday.

The commission already said it would open a special independent inquiry panel into human rights violations in the conduct of counterinsurgency operations in the Northeast on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

Ojukwu said in a statement issued by the Deputy Director (Public Affairs and External Linkages), Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, that the panel will focus, among other things, on investigating the Reuters report alleging that the Nigerian military was involved in the abortion of many pregnancies in the Northeast over the past 10 years.”

Members of the panel include retired Supreme Court Justice, Judge Abdu Aboki, (Chairman); Ms. Kemi Okonyedo (representative of women’s rights organizations); Azubuike Nwankenta (Representative of the Nigerian Bar Association); an expert in military law and intelligence, Major General Letam Wiwa (retd.);

Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Dr. Maisaratu Bakari; humanitarian expert (representing civil society), Dr Fatima Akilu and psychologist (representing youth), Ms Halima Nuradeen.

The PUNCH reported that on Friday, December 17, 2023, the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabor, demanded an investigation into the Reuters report during a visit to the committee.

Also, a coalition of more than 228 women’s rights organizations under the auspices of Womanifesto had requested an investigation into the reported forced abortion of at least 10,000 pregnancies among rescued women and girls, although the military had denied this.

Womanifesto convener and executive director of the Research and Documentation Center for Women’s Advocates, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, made the demand in a statement in Abuja, calling for the federal government to establish an investigative panel.