Nigeria: a mass abortion program practiced by force on ex-hostages of Boko Haram

The scale of the revelations is chilling.

Since at least 2013, the Nigerian military has carried out a massive abortion program, completely clandestinely, in the northeast of the country.

According to a long investigation by Reuters, at least 10,000 women and adolescent girls, most of them former hostages of Boko Haram - Islamist militia affiliated with al-Qaeda, have undergone forced abortions, reveals the American press agency.

Injections, mysterious pills, pseudo-drugs against malaria... All means have been used to camouflage the scope of the act in the eyes of women and adolescent girls, pregnant from a few weeks to eight months.

Some were no more than 12 years old, reveal the investigators, relying on dozens of witnesses and thousands of archives and medical documents.

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Most of the operations took place in rudimentary conditions, on military bases or in the field.

Some were beaten, threatened with a weapon or drugged to comply.

Still others were tied up to be force-fed abortifacients, several security officers testified.

Four soldiers claimed to have seen some women die instantly, or to have seen their corpses following the injection.

Of the 33 women and girls who agreed to testify, only one claimed to have given her consent.

"

," the Nigerian forces then threatened.

idea of ​​predestination

On the sidelines of this planning of large-scale abortions, Reuters also reveals the existence of serial massacres of children, again by the Nigerian army.

About 40 soldiers and civilians claimed to have seen the Nigerian army kill the children, or seen corpses following military operations.

In total, several thousand children are estimated to have been killed, from newborns to teenagers.

“

,” said a mother who saw her twin babies being murdered before her eyes.

The execution of such a massive abortion program is explained in particular by the idea of ​​predestination.

Fairly present in northeastern Nigeria, this belief sees the children of militiamen as future rebels, destined to take up arms against their government.

Five members of the armed forces said their superiors presented them with this program as necessary to destroy the insurgents before they came into the world.

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However, the investigators have not succeeded in identifying the people or organizations behind the program deployed in a completely clandestine manner.

Amnesty International has called on the Nigerian authorities to “

” the revelations, but the latter, for the moment, deny the conclusions of Reuters.

In a press release published on December 2, the Nigerian army high command denounced “

” journalists

.

“

,” they argued.

Nigerian officials have also argued that such abuses could not have taken place in full view of international organizations and NGOs, including the United Nations, which deploy emergency aid programs in the area.

For 13 years, a war has raged in Nigeria between armed militias, partly Islamist and linked to Boko Haram, and the state.

According to the UN, at least 300,000 people have lost their lives there, both through violence and the consequences of the conflict, famine and disease.