By Nkem Okere
The immediate past Theatre Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East, Major General Christopher Musa has described Reuters’ report of human rights violations against the Nigerian military as a mistaken identity of another country or ill-motivated to ridicule Nigeria.
He also disclosed that during his time, he lost about 200 troops at Madagali and that since July 2021,over 84 thousand returnees comprising of women, children, and men have surrendered to the military.
The former Theatre Commander at the headquarters of JTF also known as Operation Hadin Kai who spoke in Maiduguri, Borno State when he testified before the NHRC Special Investigative Panel on the allegations of Human Rights Violations in Counter Insurgency Operations in North East Nigeria (SIIP North East), maintained that “there is a motive” as he demanded an apology from Reuters.
He told the SIIP-NE chaired by Justice Abdu Aboki (rtd) that Reuters should apologise to the Nigerian military for the allegations of secret, involuntary, and illegal abortions of 10,000 pregnancies involving women and girls, infanticide, and other Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) which he dismissed as fallacious.
According to the high-ranking military officer, the report was an indictment of the United Nations system working with the military towards addressing the various issues elicited by insurgency in the North East.
The Major General, stressed that it was illogical for anybody or any institution to associate the Nigeria military with the deliberate killing of civilians against the saving of lives, particularly that of women and children whom he noted are usually taken to the rear away from the frontline and subsequently profiled before handing them over to State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for further necessary action.
Major General Musa said that the military should be commended given the level of sacrifices it has made to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria instead of being maligned.
