The Nigerian military has denied allegations of forcefully terminating pregnancies of women by Boko Haram insurgents.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who appeared on Channels TV’s Politics Today, called the claims baseless.
Musa added that they were part of a smear campaign orchestrated by some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with ulterior motives.
The CDS was reacting to a Reuters report in February 2022 alleging that the military conducted a secret abortion program as part of its counter-insurgency efforts in the northeast.
The report added that the military terminated at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls.
While dismissing the allegations, Musa stated: “I wish you could call them now and ask that question.
“I was the theatre commander when this accusation surfaced, and it was deeply upsetting. I realized most of these organizations do not mean well for us.
“Whenever we are succeeding, they throw this at us to make us look bad. The question is, what is their intent? Are they unhappy with our success?
“When this came up, I told General Irabor we should investigate it thoroughly because I was confident nothing like this happened.
“The NHRC committee investigated this for one and a half years, and I was the first to testify in January 2023. They had complete access to go wherever they wanted, and their report found no evidence of these claims.”