… Orders Compensation To Victims Of Killings In Abisare Community
The Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP North-East) has disclosed that there was no secret programme or policy of illegal abortions in the North-East being operated by the Nigerian military.
The panel maintained that “there is no evidence that the Nigerian military conducted illegal or forced abortions in the North-East.”
Also, it said there is no evidence of illegal abortion programmes terminating 10,000 pregnancies by the military in the North-East.
It however, recommended that compensation be paid within 90 days of the Report release to the victims of killings in Abisare in Marte Local Government of Borno state.
Also, it recommended the prosecution of suspected officers and men of the defunct 8 Task Force Division, Monguno who were operational in Abisare, Marte Local government of Borno state in June, 2016.
The panel, headed by Hon. Justice Abdu Aboki (Rtd) made these disclosures in its Report submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and made public on Friday, in Abuja.
It stressed that there is no evidence that Nigerian soldiers and civilian healthcare workers conducted forced and illegal abortions on women and girls in the North-East or used “inappropriate objects on surrendees and returnees in the North-East.
Further, the Report dismissed alleged use of Oxytocin and Misoprostol in medical facilities belonging to the Armed Forces and the use of it by civilian healthcare workers in state health facilities in the North-East for the purposes of effecting illegal abortions as there was no evidence found to that effect.
The Report also dismissed the claims that children were targeted or massacred because they were offsprings of Boko Haram, adding that the Military did not engage in any “Operation No Living Things” in the North-East.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, while accepting the report, noted that the Panel’s report, in particular, its findings and recommendations offer both clarity and a call for action.
According to him, “They underscore the complexities and human costs of counter-insurgency operations in Nigeria’s North-East and provide a blueprint for meaningful reform.
“They highlight the urgent need for transparency within our security forces and the establishment of mechanisms to protect civilians.
“As we receive this report today, the NHRC is resolute in its commitment to the implementation of this report, and in particular redoubling our collective efforts towards integrating human rights principles into military and counter-insurgency operations across Nigeria.”
He said that as part of the commission’s commitment to ensuring the panel’s recommendations are fully realized, the NHRC would be embarking upon series of public consultations and conversations on the report.
“The first of this series will be taking place in Maiduguri next week. We plan to host similar forums in Damaturu and Yola. In December, NHRC plans to host a Civil-Military Forum where the report and its implementation strategies will be discussed with all stakeholders.
“Additionally, the NHRC will work closely with military and medical institutions to foster respect for human rights in humanitarian situations. The NHRC is committed to ensuring that citizens of Abisari community identified in the report receive compensation and will continue to work with the military and the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that justice is served.
“Never again shall these kinds of atrocities will go unaddressed.
Further, the NHRC will liaise with our UN partners to propose human rights-based programs focused on the resettlement and reintegration of returnees and vulnerable populations, including children affected by conflict.
“The findings in this report remind us that the journey toward justice and human dignity is a shared one, demanding collective resolve and resilience”, he stated.
Chairman of the Panel, Justice Aboki (Rtd), recalled the Reuters Reports which prompted the setting up of the panel of investigation.
In the first report titled “the Abortion Assault” and published on its website on the 7th of December 2022, Reuters alleged that between 2013 and November 2021, “The Nigerian military has conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s northeast, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls” who were former captives rescued from Boko Haram insurgents.
Reuters alleged that the Nigerian military and civilian hospitals in the north-east forcefully administered oxytocin and misoprostol on women and girls in furtherance of the said illegal abortion programme.
In the second report titled “Smothered, Poisoned and Shot” and published on its website on the 12th of December 2022, Reuters alleged that the Nigerian military engaged in systematic targeting and killing of children whom they claim are offspring of Boko Haram insurgents.
According to Reuters, this was part of an “Operation No Living Things” which included burning, poisoning and suffocation of children.
In the third report titled “A War on Women” and published on its website on the 14th of December 2022, Reuters alleged various human rights violations suffered by women in the Boko Haram conflict and perpetrated by the insurgents and the Nigerian Military. These include: the deliberate targeting and killing of women and children through airstrikes in camps and the forced abortions which have been presented by Reuters in the earlier abortion assault report.
However, Justice Aboki observed that the mandate of investigating the allegations contained in the Reuters reports against the Nigerian Military and civilian institutions was a challenging one from the onset.
“Conducting an investigation of this magnitude in a volatile environment as well as the non-appearance of Reuters and a few other key institutions meant that the Panel had to work longer and more extensively, broadening its investigations and reach. It is to the credit of the Panel members, the secretariate, the NHRC and the supporting partners that today, I can proudly assert that an extensive and thorough investigation based on justice and fairness has been achieved.
“The report we are presenting today has been a result of extensive work of the Panel and its secretariate, encompassing 199 testimonies and visit to twenty field locations. They also include analyses of documentations and records received from state hospitals and the Nigerian military.
“The report contains several aspects of the investigative processes that would be instrumental in framing our human rights accountability mechanism as well as the criminal justice system in Nigeria. It is very informative and would serve as a guide or future reference material for future Panels of this magnitude.
“Apart from reporting on the investigations carried out on these allegations, it captures the challenges faced by the Panel in the course of carrying out its investigation. I have already highlighted the non-appearance of Reuters and the lack of cooperation from the International Committee of the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres.
“In its field visits, the Panel also encountered poor record keeping in both state and military hospitals; the dire state of the returnees which the Panel encountered in Kukawa; and the state of the IDP camps visited.
“I would like to use this opportunity to call for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report by the NHRC, the Federal and State governments, the Nigerian Military, UN Agencies and NGOs working in the region.
“The Panel recognises the crucial roles which the UN Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations are playing in the humanitarian responses in the north-east, providing access to life-saving solutions for women, children and other vulnerable groups.
“The Panel report present far-reaching recommendations for every stakeholder in the humanitarian ecosystem to adopt urgent and important human rights-based approaches to humanitarian assistance”, he stated.
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