Human Rights commission urges Borno govt to probe NGO’s activities

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday advised the Borno State government to evaluate the activities and programmes of Medecins Sans Frontieres in the state.

The commission made the recommendation in a report presented to the state, which absolved the Nigerian military of complicity in the reported termination of about 10,000 pregnancies in the North East.

On December 7, 2022, Reuters had published a report alleging that since 2013, the Nigerian military conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the North East, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants.

Following the Reuters publication, the NHRC set up a panel, The Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in North East, chaired by a retired Supreme Court Justice, Justice Abdul Aboki.

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Speaking before presenting the report, the Senior Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Hillary Ogbonna, said there is no evidence of illegal abortion programmes terminating 10,000 pregnancies by the Nigerian military in the North East.

Ogbonna revealed that whistleblowers testified that a nongovernmental organisation, Medecins Sans Frontieres, was involved in a programme of abortion in the North East.

He said MSF refused to appear before the panel.

“There is evidence that MSF may have operated a programme of illegal abortion in the North East.

“The panel makes this finding on the basis of the testimony of a protected witness and whistleblower, who testified that abortions were conducted by MSF from 2014 to 2015 and continued after the replacement of one Mitchell, a Mexican woman, the head of the psychosocial support program in 2016 introduced to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Ministry of Health, Borno State,” he said.

He, therefore, said the panel recommended that, “Borno State government undertakes an evaluation of the activities and programmes of the MSF in Borno State, including its Psychosocial Support Programme.”

However, Ogbonna clarified that other NGOs did not operate abortions in the North East.

He also observed that the non-appearance of the media agency, Reuters, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) raises questions as to its commitment to the values and principles it has always projected. 

“The panel’s investigations and testimonies from military and civilian sources all pointed to the fact that ICRC operates medical facilities in the North East, especially in Maiduguri, contrary to the assertion by the agency.

“In the same vein, the panel notes that despite efforts inviting them to appear before the panel, Medecins Sans Frontiere (MSF) failed to honour multiple invitations,” he said.

Receiving the document, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of Borno State, Hauwa A. Abubakar, called on NGOs, UN agencies, and other stakeholders to join efforts to uphold human rights and dignity across the state.

She also emphasised that a unified framework for accountability and justice could offer hope to victims and serve as a model for other regions facing similar crises.