Following investigations by the Special Independent Investigative Panel (SIIP North-East) on human rights abuses by the military while fighting insurgency, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the federal government and states in the North-East to ensure speedy implementation of its recommendations to bring healing to those affected.


Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Tony Ojukwu (SAN) gave the charge at the end of the 16-Day activities lined up to mark this year’s International Human Rights Day with the theme:“Our Rights, Our Future- Right Now". 


Ojukwu said Reuters, a foreign media organization, levelled grave allegations of human rights violations against the Nigerian Army, alleging that it was involved in a secret systematic and illegal abortion programme, leading to the abortion of 10,000 pregnancies, massacre of children and other forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in the course of its operations in the troubled region, but failed to appear before the panel to answer some vital questions.


He said the panel visited military formations in the Boko Haram ravaged region, ransacked and combed remote and hard-to-reach communities and came out with findings that will stand the test of time. 


According to him, “the report categorically exonerated the military from the aforementioned allegations, confirming that there was no secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme, let alone wilful killing of children perceived to be offsprings of Boko Haram terrorists in order to stop a regeneration of insurgency.


“As expected, it recommended institutional reforms cutting across the military, some state governments, international non-governmental organisations and the need to pay compensation in an isolated case where the military was deemed to have operated unprofessionally.”


Ojukwu also reeled out some of the achievements recorded by the commission within the period under review, including the setting up of a panel on rights violations by the defunct Special Armed Robbery Squad (SARS) and commended the federal ggovernment for releasing over N500 million with which victims and their relatives were compensated.


Speaking at the event, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, reiterated the federal government’s commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria.


He said this year’s theme serves as a strong reminder that human rights are the cornerstone of a just, equitable and peaceful society, adding that it emphasizes the need for collective action to safeguard the inherent dignity and worth of every individual and ensure that all persons enjoy their rights and freedoms without discrimination or distinction.


Fagbemi said  “the federal government has taken concrete steps to strengthen the institutional framework for the promotion and protection of human rights.


“These include the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, passage of the Anti-Torture Act, Violence against Persons Prohibition Act and the ratification of several international human rights treaties.


“In May this year, the president approved and gazetted that the National Human Rights Commission be designated as the National Preventive Mechanism of Nigeria (NPM) in fulfillment of Nigeria’s international obligation under the optional protocol to the UN convention against torture.”


The Chairperson, Governing Council of the Commission, Dr Salamatu Suleiman, said the commemoration of Human Rights Day should not be confined to one day but celebrated every day.


She added that emphasis must be placed on out-of-school children, stressing that if they are educated, it will eliminate vices in the society.