THE Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, on Friday, asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the allegation that the Nigerian Army ran a secret abortion programme in the North-East, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls.
Many of the women and girls, according to a report by Reuters, were those who had been kidnapped and raped by terrorists.
General Irabor, who made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Chief Tony Ojukwu (SAN), in Abuja said “we have taken a look and felt that the commission that is the right establishment that should undertake investigation into it is the NHRC.”
The defence chief, who denied the involvement of Nigerian soldiers in such an act, said “when you look at it, you feel that this is certainly not us and it does not represent the professional standing of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”
He said such an act, as reported by Reuters, does not reflect the professional engagement of the Nigerian Army not just in the North-East but across the length and breadth of the country where the army has footprints of operations in line with the dictate of the constitution.
“At first, we felt there are some extraterritorial powers that want to whittle the strength of the armed forces being at the war front in a current engagement that seeks to bring peace into our land and so some action needs to be taken,” General Irabor said.
He said the NHRC, as an agency of government that ensures that the fundamental human rights of Nigerians are not violated, should investigate the allegation against the Nigerian Armed Forces by Reuters.
“It is in that light that I have come to formally inform you, if you are not thinking about it,” he said and assured the commission of the cooperation of the armed forces in the course of the investigation.
He said: “I assure you of unfettered access. We will grant you access to all our establishments across the country.
“Our door is open to you as you so desire in the course of any investigation you may want to conduct. I am also assuring you that if you need to invite any of our officers, they will be available for you to also ask them questions that you think will be appropriate in the light of the allegations that have been given.
“We are doing this because we remain very transparent in our official engagement and we have nothing to fear.”
The defence chief stated that the Nigerian Armed Forces had codified their various operational rules and regulations as well as rules of engagement in accordance with international humanitarian law and other relevant laws that were captured. The CDS, who said it was the first time he visited the NHRC, thanked the Executive Secretary of the commission for the opportunity.
“There comes a time in the course of carrying out your responsibilities, you need to reach out to those who has one input or the other to make to advance the course of the responsibilities entrusted into the establishment that you lead by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
He said the armed forces, over the years, had observed the crucial roles that the commission plays and the contributions that it is making towards ensuring that the military lives within the bounds of the laws of the land.
Ojukwu, in his response, said the request of the defence chief was line with the determination of the commission to investigate the allegations in the Reuters report because of their human rights implications.
He told his guest that the investigation process of the commission must meet the international human rights standards required for the kind of investigation being requested by the defence chief.
According to the NHRC boss, the commission’s investigation must be public, transparent, accord with the principles of fair hearing, accountability and non-discrimination. He said the commission will soon announce further steps towards the constitution of the panel of investigation into the Reuters report.
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