Nigerian Military Secret Mass Abortion Program

NIGERIA – A Reuters news investigation has found that since at least 2013, the Nigerian military has conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion program in the country’s northeast, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls.

According to witnesses, many had been kidnapped and raped by Islamist militants, as resisters were beaten, held at gunpoint, or drugged into compliance.

Witness accounts say abortions mostly were carried out without the person’s consent – and often without their prior knowledge.

The women and girls ranged from a few weeks to eight months pregnant, and some were as young as 12 years old.

The investigation was based on interviews with 33 women and girls reportedly in the custody of the Nigerian army.