- Reuters had reported back in February 2022 that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against armed groups in the northeast.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has dismissed allegations of the military’s involvement in forced abortions of babies fathered by Boko Haram insurgents in Northern Nigeria.
A report by Reuters in February 2022 claimed that the military was running a secret abortion programme, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls.
However, General Musa debunked these allegations on Channels Television’s Politics Today, stating that they were orchestrated by NGOs with ulterior motives.
“I wish you could call them now and ask that question. I was the theatre commander when they brought this accusation, and I felt very bad because I noticed most of these organisations don’t mean well for us,” General Musa said.
He questioned the intent behind the allegations, wondering why NGOs would level such serious accusations against the military.
General Musa also revealed that he met with the then Chief of Staff, Lucky Irabor, to investigate the matter.
The Human Rights Commission set up an independent committee to investigate the allegations, and General Musa was the first to testify in January 2023.
After a thorough investigation, the committee found no evidence to support the allegations.
General Musa expressed his disappointment, stating, “We have gone ahead and appealed to the Attorney General to take this to court since they maligned us falsely. Let them come and publicly apologise and say they were wrong about it.”
He also highlighted the unintended consequences of such allegations, pointing out that international organisations, local NGOs, and the UN had been working with the military for 10 years without reporting any such incidents.
General Musa wondered if these organisations were also being indicted by the allegations.
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