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

FILE PHOTO: A Nigerian woman, unnamed to protect her identity, who told Reuters she received an abortion under a secret program run by the Nigerian military, poses for a portrait in an undisclosed location in Nigeria, September 28, 2020. Military leaders denied the abortion program ever existed. REUTERS/Paul Carsten/File Photo

(Reuters) - A special panel named by Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission launched an investigation Tuesday 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 punish anyone.