An independent panel established by the National Human Rights Commission has exonerated the Nigerian military from allegations of conducting forced abortions on thousands of women in the north-east region.
In response to serious allegations raised in a Reuters investigation, the National Human Rights Commission, an independent agency appointed by the Nigerian government, convened a special panel in February 2023 to investigate the claims.
The NHRC’s inquiry involved thorough hearings conducted in Abuja and Borno State, areas heavily impacted by military actions against Islamist insurgents.
The Reuters report, published last year, alleged that the Nigerian military had operated a systematic abortion program targeting women impregnated by insurgents and had engaged in the killing of children as part of its anti-insurgency strategy.
The Nigerian military, however, firmly denied these allegations, calling them “unfounded and malicious.”
However, the committee found certain soldiers culpable for a tragic incident in 2016, where a woman and three children were allegedly burned to death in Borno State’s Marte Local Government Area.
Led by former Supreme Court Justice Abdu Aboki, the panel’s investigation followed reports suggesting the military had coerced women into undergoing at least 10,000 abortions between 2013 and 2021.
