Amnesty International Warned against Derailing Nigerian Military’s Efforts to End Terrorism
Concerned Professionals Congress (CPC) has warned the Amnesty International (AI) against alleged tacit derailment of the efforts of the Nigerian military to end terrorism in the country, as it threatened to take the international agency to International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague if it doesn’t desist from such act.
The group also demanded that the International organisation should come out clean and convince the world that it is not an espionage mission to push Nigeria under at all cost.
CPC, at a press conference in Lagos recently, expressed dismay that with the AI recent report, “it ran out of ink to document such gruesome accounts by both minors while probing and publicising alleged cases of mass murder and gross human rights violations across the globe. But it found sufficient ink to accuse with gory details allegations of murders against Nigerian soldiers combating armed dissident groups like the Boko Haram in the country.”
While addressing journalists at the conference held at Ikeja, the Chief Media Strategist of the civil advocacy group, Emeka Nwapa, who hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for fulfilling his constitutional obligations as required by Section 145 of the Nigerian Constitution (amended) by handing over properly to his vice, also accused AI of bias.
He highlighted numerous media reports of how the Boko Haram terrorists have been destroying communities, families and properties in the Northeast zone, lamenting that in its report, the international agency failed to reflect those reports, thereby accusing AI of lopsidedness in its report.
According to him, “It leaves a bad taste in the mouth to hear that an organisation like the AI that seeks credibility always comes up with such questionable reports that gleefully confers legitimacy on brazen murderers of innocent, defenceless and law-abiding citizens of Nigeria such as the Boko Haram terrorists and other similar violently-armed groups in a country governed by law.
“We demand that Amnesty International should come out clean by convincing the free world that it is not the espionage and strategy wing of some interests that have sworn to push our nation under at all cost. We join our counterparts in Global Amnesty Watch (GAW), Africa Arise for Change Network, Coalition of Civil Society Groups (COCSG), etc in putting pressure on AI and its mischievous collaborators to desist from undermining the image and integrity of our military and other security forces that have continued to rescue defenceless Nigerians from the barbaric and dastardly activities of Boko Haram and similar groups.”
Nwapa added that through its “salacious and questionable reports, the Amnesty International has unabashedly supported and boosted the relentless activities of these heavily-armed non-state actors against the sovereignty of the Nigerian state. This is treasonable, despicable and unacceptable. We demand an end to this otherwise we shall be forced to put pressure on our federal government to initiate moves for the possible investigation and prosecution of AI at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague before the full materialisation of a grand conspiracy against the Nigerian nation.”
He noted that CPC is working in concert with other people-oriented groups in the country to resist any move to undermine the image of Nigerian military in order to bring about the disintegration of the country. “It shall not happen!
“We particularly commend the excellent professional conduct of the Nigerian military and other security agencies for keeping to its rules of engagement anchored on best global practices in deterring criminal acts of destruction of our national oil and gas installations, preventing militancy as well as stopping crude oil theft, sea robbery and general criminality in the region.
“We salute the sacrifices and selflessness of all our servicemen who lost their lives in the quest to make us safe and secure. May their souls rest in peace. Amen.