The National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday provided a report on its progress in unraveling the facts around Reuter’s allegation of human rights violations by the Nigerian military.
Reuters, an international news organization in an Investigative report published in December 2022 alleged that the Nigerian military ran the programme, secretly terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies of freed captives of Boko Haram terrorists in the troubled region over the years.
The commission on Wednesday announced that the Special Independent and Investigative Panel headed by the retired Chief Judge Abdu Aboki is set to embark on the second phase of the investigation.
The PUNCH reported that the second phase of the investigation will involve “public hearings in Abuja, Yobe and Adamawa, a continuation of public hearings in Maiduguri, visits to three civilian camps for returnees in Borno state, training and deployment of a second set of community investigators.”
It will also involve processing and analysis of documents from the Nigerian military and hospitals in Borno state.
Some emerging issues during the investigation were also disclosed such as the need to access documents, the inability to make physical visits to unsafe areas in Borno and the need for community investigators.
The panel stated that during the course of its findings, the SIIP North-east after inauguration approved a program of work in line with its mandate and began hearing from 9th to 16th February 2023. He said the panel has since started its investigation in Maiduguri where it has recorded success and received massive cooperation from the Nigerian Military and the Borno state Government.
The panel covered five locations during the period, seven divisions of the Nigerian Army, Mai Malari Barracks, Joint Investigation Center, Giwa Barracks, state specialist hospital, Umaru Shehu hospital, and Amada international hotel.
According to the panel secretary, the NHRC senior human rights adviser, Hilary Ognonna, the committee has received “testimonies from 33 individuals during the period including military officers, health personnel and public officials”. Consultations, outreach, public hearings and local level investigations, research, analysis and documentation were also part of the first phase activities embarked upon in the course of the investigation, according to the panel.
The task of investigating the allegations by Reuters has also led to partnerships with several stakeholders like the NBA, UN agencies, and civil societies and the task is not without unique challenges.
Among the challenges acknowledged by the panel is that, “a good number of the military personnel who served in the location have either been reposted or retired from service”.
Another challenge is the non-cooperation of some international agencies, difficulty accessing victims, logistics and financial challenges.
“Some international agencies have invoked their immunities and non-interference policies to stay out from either presenting testimonies or documents to the SIIP North-east,” Ogbanna disclosed.