Reuters Abortions Story: Fingers point at London-based NGO as ‘possible culprit’
By Chidi Omeje
Following the recent report by Reuters which accused Nigerian military of practicing infanticide in north east and the spirited denial by the Defence Headquarters, facts are beginning to emerge regarding where the allegation was coming from and who the possible culprits are.
Investigations by Security Digest revealed a particular foreign non-governmental organization which runs a curious medical services across the terrorism-hit north east of Nigeria. The group going by the name, Marie Stopes International Organisation of Nigeria (MSION), a part of Marie Stopes International Global Partnership with Headquarters in London, United Kingdom, is said to be ‘providing reproductive healthcare services for victims of terrorism in the north east’.
The group claims that its mission in Nigeria is to ensure that families and women have children by choice, not by chance, while its target is that by 2030, every woman should have access to reproductive health services.
In a meeting with its stakeholders recently, MSION’s group’s Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Jonathan Nachia, stated that the organization has successfully averted 15, 317 unintended pregnancies, 6,344 abortions, 5, 719 unsafe abortions, 79, maternal deaths, and 4,581 mortality and mobility, among others.
He further claimed that they have operated in 56 health facilities in 12 local government areas of Borno State and listed Bayo, Biu, gubio, Hawul, Jere, Konduga, Kwaya Kusar, Mafar, shani and Maiduguri, as the councils they have worked in.
However, to some security experts Security Digest spoke to, the admittance of Marie Stopes International Organisation of Nigeria to engaging in the termination of thousands pregnancies in Borno State, is quite curious and might just provide the key with which to unlock the intrigue in the strange allegation levelled against the Nigerian military by Reuters.
Read Also:
A crisis communication expert who wants to remain anonymous for the mean time said the activities of that particular organisation is questionable and must be investigated.
“How did the NGO prevent 6,344 abortions, and more seriously, how did they avert 5,719 unsafe abortions? Did the NGO help the women in carrying out ‘safe’ abortions? These are huge numbers in just one year. Is it possible that this NGO is carrying out a sinister programme in the North East? Could this be one of such programmes Reuters wants to appropriate to the Nigerian military?, he asked
Reuters in its story claimed that some of the women they interviewed revealed that armed soldiers escorted them to hospitals where abortions were carried out on them, suggesting complicity of the soldiers in the sordid act. However, a Defence Reporter based in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, said the claim did not add up. According to him, the mere fact that the women saw ‘armed soldiers’ who were escorting them does not mean that the soldiers were complicit or even aware of whatever the medics were doing inside the hospital.
“It is a usual practice for armed soldiers to escort women, children or even anybody released or rescued from Boko Haram captivity to safe places like hospitals or camps. How does that now suggest that they forcing them into hospitals where abortions are done on them?”.
A security personnel in Maiduguri who spoke with Security Digest spoke and also didn’t want his identity revealed said the Government of Borno State should weigh in on this matter because they are very much aware of the presence of Marie Stopes organisation in the state.
“They know about most of these foreign NGOs in the state but it is another things if they don’t know what the organisation are doing in the name of providing medical services, and this boils down to lack of supervision”. According to him, the State government must state their own side of the story.
“They should not allow the military to be thrown under the bus by the Reuters and co. Let the Government come out openly to exonerate the military because they know the military does not have such programme in their anti-terrorism operations in the region.
Marie Stopes International which provides contraception and abortions to women and girls in 37 countries, is one of the numerous international non-governmental organisations operating in North east, especially Borno State, the epicenter of Boko Haram terrorism.
