DHQ Speaks Out About The Army Forcing Rescued Women To Abort Pregnancies, Among Other Things

The Nigerian Army is not forcing rescued women and girls to abort their pregnancies, according to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ).
According to Track News, the DHQ made this public in a statement released on Friday by its spokesman, Jimmy Akpor.

He claimed that the Nigerian military never ran a secret, systematic, and illegal abortion program in the North East that resulted in the termination of at least 12,000 pregnancies among women and girls.

Akpor also denied reports that Nigerian military officers were killing children as part of counterinsurgency operations in the North East.

He stated that the statement was made in response to a letter from Reuters, an international news agency, informing the DHQ that it is working on a series of stories about the actions of the Nigerian military during the 13-year war against terrorists in the region.

“To them (Reuters), they were committed to producing an accurate, fair, and complete report, hence their request to arrange a time to discuss before their reporting,” the statement reads. The alleged stories centered on two specific areas: first, an alleged military-run program of forced abortions performed on women and girls held captive and impregnated by Islamist militants, and second, an alleged military killing of children as part of counterinsurgency operations.

“According to the Reuters report, Nigeria’s military has run a secret, systematic, and illegal abortion program in the country’s North East since 2013, terminating at least 12,000 pregnancies among women and girls.” In army-led operations, that many children were shot, poisoned, suffocated, or run over by vehicles.

“Furthermore, the report was to allege that soldiers chose babies and toddlers for killing after rescuing them and their mothers from Islamist militants, among other heinous fabrications.”

“The key motivation for allegedly carrying out the abortions was allegedly the belief that the children of Islamist militants would one day follow in their father’s footsteps and take up arms against the Nigerian government and society due to the blood in their veins.”

Akpor slammed Reuters for the fabricated series of stories, saying they are a collection of insults to the Nigerian people and culture.

The DHQ spokesman also chastised the news agency for fabricating an infanticide allegation against the Nigerian military and the Nigerian nation.

He claimed that while on the battlefield, the Nigerian Army and its officers follow international best practices and rules of engagement.

“Hmmm!” said the statement. Wickedness runs deep in some people’s veins, and it certainly runs deep in the veins of the Reuters team that concocted such evil for interrogation. The fictitious series of stories is actually a collection of insults to Nigerian peoples and culture, because no people or culture in Nigeria practices the evil imagined by the Reuters team.

“Regardless of the security challenges we face as a nation, Nigerian peoples and cultures continue to value life.” As a result, Nigerian military personnel have been raised, bred, and further trained to protect lives, even at their own risk, particularly those of children, women, and the elderly. Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs), Concepts of Operations, Rules of Engagement (ROEs), and other documents that guide military operations reflect this.

“As a result, there has been no trace or allegation of infanticide anywhere the Nigerian military has operated (Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, [Darfur] Sudan, Gambia, and Guinea Bissau, among others).” The Nigerian military will not, therefore, consider conducting a systematic and illegal abortion program anywhere and at any time, let alone on our own soil. The Nigerian military will not intentionally target children during counterinsurgency or other operations, both within and outside of Nigeria.

“Nigerians, and by extension the Nigerian military, are not made in such a heinous mold, and the Reuters team cannot attribute the evil of infanticide to the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Nigerian peoples.”

“However, let us probe the issues. It took Reuters 13 years to craft an infanticide allegation against the Nigerian military and the Nigerian nation. This demonstrates that a news agency as ‘famous’ as Reuters is complicit in failing to carry out its mandate of drawing attention to and informing the public about alleged occurrences that violate not only the laws of armed conflict but also international humanitarian law.”