From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
The Federal Government has refuted an international news agency report that the military carried out 10,000 abortions for victims of Boko Haram in the North East.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said this at the ongoing PMB administration scorecard series in Abuja, yesterday, described the report as fake news, which can derail the military’s efforts efforts in fighting insecurity in the North East.
“I will like to, once again, alert the nation to the dangers posed by fake news and disinformation. I have had a reason to speak on this at this forum, when I warned that fake news and disinformation constitute a clear and present danger to the 2023 election.
“However, fake news and disinformation, if not checked, can also have a negative impact on our nation’s ongoing fight against terrorism,” the minister said.
In addition, government queried the motive behind the report as the agency quoted different figures and refused to name its sources in the alleged nine-year abortion programme.
“As you are all aware, an international news agency recently reported that the Nigerian military, in their fight against Boko Haram/ISWAP, has been running a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the North East, ostentibly – according to the news agency – because ‘the children of insurgents are predestined, by the blood in their veins, to one day take up arms against the Nigerian government and society.’
“The story also claimed that 10,000 such abortions have been carried out from 2013 to date on women and girls. The news agency made this grave allegation without a scintilla of evidence, citing only anonymous sources and the reported review of phantom ‘documents.’
“The agency claimed that its investigation was based on interviews with 33 women and girls. Interview with 33 women and girls to arrive at the bogus claim of 10,000 abortions? And, in a further indication that the figure of abortions quoted was arbitrary or possibly conjured, the agency first put the figure at 12,000 before settling for 10,000.
“The Federal Government hereby categorically states that there is no ‘secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme’ being run by our military in the North East or anywhere across the country.
“We also, hereby, reject the accusation of running an abortion programme levelled at our military, We state categorically that this story is a scary instance of fake news and disinformation combined. The writers deserve an award in fiction writing.”
According to the minister, the timing of the release of the report is suspect; at a time when the military are recording successes in the theatre of war, including rescuing some of the girls and their children, from the grips of Boko Haram.
Mohammed said: “The question is: what’s the motive of this news agency and the usual suspects who have latched on to this story? Why is this so-called investigation coming at a time that our heroic men and women in uniform have been recording successes after successes, decimating the terrorists, rescuing abducted persons and receiving hundreds of thousands of terrorists who have surrendered?
“For the record, the Nigerian military has rescued 11 Chibok girls with all their children, 2,018 other persons (comprising 339 adult males, 660 adult females and
1019 children), while 82,645 persons, comprising 16,621 male fighters, 24,638 women and 41,386 children, have surrendered. The military has also neutralised 494 terrorists (note that this does not include terrorists neutralized through airstrikes and terrorists’ infighting).
“Why is this news agency not playing up these positive news but instead chose to give prominence to a phantom abortion story? Is this a ploy to demoralise and distract our fighting forces? Is it a strategy to set the world against Nigeria and cut off the support that is critical to crushing terrorists? Only the news agency can answer these questions. But we stand by our military, which has served meritoriously at home, and at regional and global peacekeeping operations from 1960 to date. We know that military operations in the
North East are not arbitrary but based on the military’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Rules of Engagement (ROE), among others.
“Where any proven infraction or criminal act has been committed by any soldier, the law has always taken its course. But it is beyond the pale and downright dangerous to accuse a nation’s military, without any verifiable evidence, of massive illegal abortions and infacticide.”
Meanwhile, in his presentation, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, announced a presidential declaration to allocate 0.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product to fund the ministry’s research and development institutes. Mamora also said the ministry has reduced unemployment by 5.7 million jobs.
“There are quarterly performance assessments and we’ve contributed to employment in Nigeria. For example, in Agriculture, what we have established from the reports coming from National Planning is that we’ve been able to create more than 5.7 million jobs for Nigerians.
“We’ve been able to create one million job opportunities in Agriculture. In Mining, quarry services, 177,675 jobs have been created, in manufacturing, about 2.2 million jobs were created and, of course, in transportation, we’ve added more than 100, 000 jobs. The ministry has also created jobs in other areas, including information and communication, professional scientific and technical services, education, social services and other allied services.”
Asked to be specific on how the ministry’s innovations and inventions have contributed to Nigeria’s GDP, with regards to global acceptance of those products, he replied:
“Different agencies of the ministry have contributed to the country’s GDP. There’s the anti-sickling drug that has been acknowledged, globally, for sicklers. It’s from Nigeria. I’m also aware that there is the anti-snake venom from Nigeria, which has also been acknowledged globally.”