The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has hailed the outcome of the investigation on the allegation of forced abortion levelled against the Nigerian military by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Reuters.

Mr Musa made this known in a statement by the director of defence information, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, on Saturday in Abuja.

Mr Musa commended the special independent investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency in the North-East for exonerating the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) from indictments regarding allegations of forceful abortions and other infractions in the sub-region.

He recalled that the report of the panel specifically stated that the allegations of systematic abortions, torture, rape and extra-judicial killings levelled against the military were false.

The CDS commended the seven-man panel led by retired Justice Abdu Aboki for painstakingly carrying out a thorough job since its inauguration in March 2023 by the Nigerian Human Rights Commission.

He reaffirms the commitment of the armed forces to the defence of human rights and resolve to ensure that peace reigns in the country.

According to him, no amount of false accusations will distract the armed forces from exercising its constitutional mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.

(NAN)