17th February, 2023
By Yakubu Uba
The Borno Government and other stakeholders on Friday explained why the claim of mass abortion at the Internal Displaced Camps as reported by an international news organization is not only unbelievable, but unimaginable.
They spoke when they appeared before the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in the North East, sitting in Maiduguri.
The panel, headed by Justice Abdul Aboki (rtd), was constituted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) based on a Reuters’ report alleging human rights violations by the military.
The reports alleged that the military organised 10,000 illegal abortions and killing of children suspected to be fathered by Boko-Haram members between 2013 to 2019.
However, while speaking when she appeared before the panel, Borno Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo said it’s hard to imagine that such abortions were carried out by military since solders were not allowed into camps housing rescued women and children.
The Commissioner therefore said the Reuters’ report was a big surprise to Borno government.
“The women are emotionally attached to their husbands and the allegation that soldiers or other public servants could abort pregnancies of their beloved wives is unimaginable”, the commissioner added.
According to her, the husbands of the women had at one point said they would not want their wives to be attended to by men in case of any health challenge.
She wondered how such “jealous men” would allow anyone to touch their wives let alone abort their pregnancies.
Gambo explained that casualties recorded in the camps were those related to early childhood diseases like measles and diarrhea.
Also testifying before the panel, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Yusuf, Commandant Nigerian Defence Academy, described the Reuters report as a deliberate attempt to distract the military.
Yusuf who was a former General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division, Maiduguri, pointing out that if there were such abortions and killings, the public would have spoken about it.
The commandant said the military is a regimented institution that pays particular attention to every detail in relating with people.
“When you throw away the rule of law, you have lost it, you cannot win the hearts and minds of the people you are protecting, they will also not trust you and it will be difficult for you to operate in their territory”, he said.
In his testimony, the state Solicitor General, Garba-Musa Chibok, urged the panel to also invite Reuters to testify.
Chibok said in 2013, the period referred to in the Reuters report, the state was in turmoil while the military was concerned about neutralizing terrorists.
“Tell me, in this situation who has time to think of anything like abortion?
“I am from Chibok, and I am seriously affected by this problem, all the children rescued from the frontline are alive, I know them some of them are my relations, you can call them to come here and talk to you,” Chibok said.
(NAN)