The panel is specifically mandated to investigate the allegations of forced mass abortion on pregnant women by the troops of the Nigerian military, as revealed in an investigation by Reuters last year.
The Abdu Aboki-led Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations set up by the Nigerian government to probe the allegations of gross rights violation by the country's military has commenced sitting in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
The panel is specifically mandated to investigate the allegations of forced mass abortion on pregnant women by the troops of the Nigerian military, as revealed in an investigation by Reuters last year.
The revelations, which attracted global outrage, claimed that the Nigerian military since 2013 carried out "a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the country's northeast, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls" who were kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants.
Upon arrival in Maiduguri this week, members of the panel met relevant stakeholders, including the Shehu of Borno and top officials of the state government as well as the military.
During its first panel sitting at the medical facility complex of the Maimalar Cantonment on Saturday, the panellists engaged the commanding officer of the foremost military hospital, Adeniyi Ogunsakin, a lieutenant colonel.
They were led by the lead counsel of the National Human Rights Commission and Secretary of the Panel, Hillary Ogbonna, who cross-examined Mr Ogunsakin for over two hours.
Mr Ogunsakin, who heads all military medical facilities under the 7 Division Nigeria army, denied most of the claims published in the Reuters report.
Mr Ogunsakin said the allegations of mass abortions "are mere claims that can be made by anybody which has no foundation or proof to back it up."
"We have never had such issues in this hospital, and neither have we gotten any report in all our records of over ten years of this hospital," he said.
The Commander, who has been in the army medical corp for over 16 years, explained the procedure for rescuing civilian casualties and how the medical corp usually handles them.
"When troops rescue civilian victims from Boko Haram or during a crossfire, they are usually rescued and taken to the rear of the advancing forces where they are given emergency care before they are taken either by road or by chopper to the 7 Division Hospital in Maiduguri where they are medically examined, given needed treatment and then handed back to the Theater Command from where they are taken to the government-owned hospital for further medical attention.
The colonel said civilian casualties are not admitted to the hospital beyond "a few hours" because the hospital is strictly meant to cater to military personnel and their family members, while civilians are only given outpatient services.
Mr Ogunsakin said the only rescued civilian casualties admitted at the hospital were 12 Chibok school girls who were rescued from captivity.
On the question of whether the hospital does perform abortions on patients rescued from Boko Haram captivity, the military commander said all female patients who are of childbirth age were subjected to all kinds of tests, including those for malaria, genital infections and even pregnancy by a certified obstetric gynaecologist.
"The Consultant Obstetric gynaecologist treats the patients for any ailments that may have been diagnosed and ensure that they are stable. The patient would be handed back to the Theater of Operation for onward delivery to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA)," he said.
He said the hospital does not sanction or carry out any form of abortion of pregnancy on any patient.
"The only female civilians diagnosed as pregnant at the hospital were two out of the 12 Chibok schoolgirls," he said. "And the two knew that they were pregnant."
"On the general rescue we have had in the field had no single case of diagnosed pregnancy. We don't admit them here, as I said, but we transfer them to the State Specialists Hospital, where the ICRC has a clinic.
On the alleged "illegal, forced and unconsented abortions, Mr Ogunsakin said: "The allegation is highly fallacious because even as military doctors, we have signed an oath to protect lives, and the care for our patients is paramount over any other thing; we prioritize the patients care and wellbeing to what end would we kill innocent lives in the name of abortion which is killing people. We don't do that in medicine, not to mention being in the military medical corp where you are expected to be highly disciplined and professional. As the commander here, I am under the General Officer Commanding who must know everything that we do here; he received a constant report of everything that we do here, from patient admission to the drugs administered."
Another claim in the Reuters report stated that "one of the woman's full name was seen written an Excel of the hospital's abortion register, which confirmed that she had a surgical abortion and she absconded from the facility after the procedure; a second woman also confirmed the authenticity of such register that it contained her name and accurately described the procedure she had," the Panel lawyer asked if the commander could confirm the existence of such abortion register. Mr Ogunsakin responded: "No we don't have such a record because we don't conduct abortions in this hospital, so there is no basis for having an abortion register.
He further explained that abortion could only be done in the case of medical abortion, which he said is done to save lives and with consent.
According to the Reuters report, "the clandestine nature of the programme makes it impossible to determine the total number of abortions performed."
Reuters said its estimate was based on "interviews with soldiers, guards, health workers and women who underwent abortions, as well as patient registers and other documents.
Reuters explained further that "The tally, at least 10,000, is attested to by three sets of sources: 155 individual procedures recorded in patient registers; at least 3,900 performed over several years by a soldier at one military base; and 7,000 or more in another area described by three soldiers and one guard. Reuters rounded the sum to 10,000 because of possible overlap in some cases."
Acknowledging that the hospital has military and civilian staff whom he said work under strict supervision, Mr Ogunsakin dismissed the possibility of any rogue character carrying out secret illicit acts like abortion in the hospital or the barracks.
He was later cross-examined by the two military lawyers led by one MY Abdullahi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and Mohammed M Kallah, a retired brigadier general.
Shehu Borno doubts culpability of the military
The Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi, said he doubted the military would be found guilty of rights violations during the counterinsurgency operations in North-east Nigeria.
Mr El-Kanemi told members of the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in the Counter Insurgency Operations in the North East (SIIP-NE) when they paid him a courtesy call at his palace.The traditional ruler expressed delight at the visit. He said the Emirate is worried about the Reuters' report, describing it as capable of distracting the military from carrying out their operations, which, according to him, have brought relative peace to Borno state and the North-east region in general.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"We are happy with the setting up of the panel by the government; it is a relief to us because we are hopeful that it will get to the root of the matter and travel the truth," he stated.
The Shehu recalled that before the deployment of troops to the state on counter-insurgency operations, Borno and other parts of the North -east "several villages were captured, airports were inoperative, roads were barricaded, telecommunication was interrupted, women and school children were kidnapped at random by the insurgents."
The monarch said barbaric crimes and grave human rights violations were reduced minimally "with the massive deployment of troops, and I will be highly surprised if the panel finds the military guilty of unprofessional conduct and human rights violations."
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, said the panel visited the Shehu of Borno before the commencement of sittings so that the Emirate would be aware of the presence of the panel in the State as well as the objective of the panel.
He noted that Reuters' report "has serious human rights implications, and as an Independent body which among other responsibilities."
"The Commission deemed it fit to establish the panel as mandated to assist the government in fulfilling its international human rights obligations," he said
The Chairman of the panel, Abdu Aboki, a retired judge, said the visit is necessary "to enable the panel to achieve its objective of arriving at the truth of the matter and serving justice to all parts."
