probe - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Nigerian rights body ends probe into abortion allegations against military

NIGERIA'S human rights commission said on Tuesday it had concluded hearings into an investigation of a Reuters report that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast. The Nigerian military has previously said that the report was not true. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which is appointed by the government, established a special panel in February 2023 to investigate the allegations and has been conducting hearings in the capital Abuja and in northeastern Borno state. NHRC said the hearings had ended, with Borno's attorney general and the military addressing the panel on Tuesday. The commission…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

US federal judge, 95, faces fresh competency claims as she fights probe

WORLD

A U.S. federal appeals judge facing a competency investigation has been unable to complete simple tasks independently and threatened a staffer with arrest, according to witness reports included in an order from her court on Tuesday. An investigative committee of the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by Judge Pauline Newman, 95, to transfer the probe to another circuit. It ordered her to undergo a neurological evaluation and neuropsychological testing, with a Friday deadline to say whether she will comply. The Washington-based Federal Circuit said it will not comment on the order or other related documents it released on…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian rights panel, underfunded and overmatched, begins probe of powerful military

NEWS

LIBBY GEORGE A special panel named by Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission launched an investigation into recent Reuters reports on rights abuses by the country’s army. Those familiar with the commission’s past work say it faces stiff challenges. The state-funded NHRC does its best to press officials to act in the interest of citizens whose rights have been violated, eight sources with knowledge of the commission said. But they said the NHRC, whose inquiry was supported by the government amid an international outcry, is hobbled by a lack of authority to compel military leaders and other officials to prosecute or…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian Rights Commission to probe abortion claims

NEWS

NIGERIA'S human rights commission has appointed a special panel whose role will include investigating a Reuters report that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the northeast. The Nigerian military said it would not carry out an investigation because the report was not true. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which is appointed by the government, said in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday that it would launch the special panel next week in Abuja. "The National Human Rights Commission will on Tuesday (7th February 2023) inaugurate a Special Independent Investigative Panel on human rights violations…