The The Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Musa, has said that no number of false allegations will distract the military from fulfilling its constitutional mandate to protect the territorial integrity of the nation.

His comment follows the outcome of an investigative panel set up by the National Human Rights Commission to look into human rights allegations against the army in the North East.

The commission was established to investigate the report published by Reuters that accused the army of running a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the northeast, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies of women and girls, many of whom had been kidnapped and raped by the militants Islamists.

After completing its investigations, the commission said it found no evidence to support the claim that the Nigerian military operated a secret program or had a policy of illegal abortions, based on witness testimony.

However, Musa, in a statement on Saturday by the Director of Defense Intelligence, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, hailed the panel for the outcome of their investigation.

Musa assured that the army under his leadership will defend human rights and restore peace in the troubled areas of the country.

He said: “The Chief of Defense Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has hailed the Special Independent Investigation Group on Human Rights Violations in the Counter-Insurgency in the North-East for exonerating the Nigerian Armed Forces from allegations by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Reuters. on allegations of forced abortions and other crimes in the North East. It may be recalled that the panel’s report expressly stated that the allegations of systematic abortions, torture, rape and extrajudicial killings leveled against the AFN are false.

“The CDS therefore commends the seven-man panel headed by Justice Abdu Aboki (retd) for having done a thorough job since its inauguration in March 2023 by the Nigerian Human Rights Commission. Gen Musa wishes to take this opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of the Nigerian Armed Forces to the defense of human rights and determination to ensure peace in the country.

“According to the Defense Chief, no number of false allegations will distract the AFN from exercising its constitutional mandate to protect the nation’s territorial integrity.”