UN calls for investigation after revelations of forced abortions in Nigeria

(Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an investigation into allegations of systematic and forced abortions allegedly carried out by the Nigerian military, UN spokesman Stephane said on Friday. Dujarric.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Nigerian military has been running a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the northeast of the country since at least 2013.

At least 10,000 pregnancies have been terminated, most of them involving young girls or women kidnapped and raped by jihadist insurgents, according to dozens of testimonies and documents collected and examined by Reuters.

The Nigerian army high command has said it will not look into the investigation as it believes it to be bogus.

“The Secretary General takes note with concern of the allegations of systematic and forced abortions allegedly perpetrated by the Nigerian army against women and girls who had already been victims of Boko Haram”, declared Stéphane Dujarric, in an email addressed to at Reuters.

“These allegations deserve a thorough investigation and the application of immediate corrective measures and accountability measures, if necessary.”

(Reporting Michelle Nichols; French version Federica Mileo, editing by Kate Entringer)