Amnesty International: A Threat to National Security

By Gabriel Ikese

Nigerians are worried by the activities of Amnesty International for supporting terrorists and defending rebellion to destabilize the country. From all available records, AI’s report on Nigeria has been largely bias and full of sentiments against basic ethical standards and fundamental visions of the organization.

The report by Amnesty International on recent boko haram attack on Rann was a fabrication of falsehood which was deliberately calculated to smear the Nigerian military and government. AI alleged that 60 persons were killed on January 28, 2019 in the terror attack. The reports were investigated and discovered to be bunch of lies.

Peter Benenson is the progenitor of Amnesty International (AI). He would be resentful at the rot that has become of the NGO today. Amnesty International did not only derail from its envisaged basic ideals but had criminally skewed the vision of its progenitor, and are bent at destroying many countries through its ridiculous fabrications against legitimate authorities and institutions.

The Organization, which is now gone rogue, is reputed for institutionalized partiality and double standard reportage deliberately crafted to create animosity aimed at undermining sovereign authorities. Russia, a once strong and united union, was a victim and classical example of orchestrated evils of Amnesty International.

History they say is the best teacher. The experience of the defunct Soviet Union is enough for Nigerians to be agitated about the activities of this reprehensible organization. Some would argue that the Soviet Union suffered a bad economy, but that is not entirely true. The economic conundrum could not have been sufficient enough to collapse the Union.

The Russians have the expertise and resources to have revived the economy within reasonable time frame. Amnesty International’s disproportionate focus on the Soviet Union and its Military in their reportage, escalated internal grievances, which ultimately led to the eventual dissolution of the Union.

The rogue International NGO wants to replicate the same evil in Nigeria as evident by the many fabrications against the Nigerian Military who are risking their lives in battle against terror in the Northeast. The report claimed the military abandoned their position of deployment which led to the alleged killings of civilians in Rann attack.

The insinuations conceived by Amnesty International were certainly not the attributes of the Nigerian military. Defending the Nigeria territorial integrity and protecting the people is the pride of the military. The military has preserved the unity of Nigeria as demonstrated during the Biafra civil war and the Maitsatine uprisings with a high degree of professionalism.

The Army Chief, Lt.Gen. TY Burutai, a disciplined Military Strategist and Patriot, whose sense of professionalism is topnotch, trained the Nigerian Army to conform to international best practice and acceptable rules of engagement in all its operations within and outside the shore of Nigeria. And the Army has always returned home with commendations and meritorious service medals as attestation to their good conduct and professionalism.

The army conducted a robust search of Rann and its environs and no 60 bodies were found. The report was therefore simply outlandish and largely unverified. It was designed to portray the Military as incapable and project the government as not protective of the people in the eyes of the global community.

Worried by the news making the rounds on Boko Haram attacks in Rann, the Coalition of Human Rights and Conflict Resolution commissioned an independent team of researchers to undertake an assessment tour of Rann with a view to leaving the realm of speculation and put the records in proper perspective for Nigerians and indeed the world to appreciate the reality of the ongoing fight against insurgency in the Northeast.

The coalition gathered that Rann attack was amplified out of proportion and misrepresented to the general public. The bulk of Amnesty International claims were not true reflection of the reality in Rann. The perceived intent of the report was to create a sense of insecurity to scare residents of the Northeast from participating in the coming general elections. However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) saw through the fallacies of the report and assured that elections would hold as scheduled. Several other civil society groups have also condemned the AI reports as mischievous and misleading.

Obviously, the Amnesty International report was orchestrated to ridicule the Nigerian government and to undermine the fight against their surrogate terrorist assets in the northeast. The sustained attacks on the Nigerian government and the military by AI is one too many. The Coalition of Human Rights and Conflict Resolution now believes that the many vituperations to undermine effort of the military are attacks on the fabric of the nation and deliberate propaganda to instigate disunity aimed at destroying Nigeria’s sovereignty.

Many Nigerians believed Amnesty International was responsible for Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast. Their actions are in congruent with this position as they are always quick to condemn actions taken by authorities to restore normalcy and in most cases release exaggerated reports of killings that never occurred to heat up the polity unnecessarily. The organization is now reputed for releasing fake news to brainwash the gullible.

Benenson’s elementary goal for the organization is to help “prisoners of conscience”. The subsequent expansion of the mandate does not include the defense of persons or group that adopts violence to the detriment of peaceful coexistence and unity. AI’s clandestine support for terror groups and separatist activities in Nigeria is intentionally designed to destroy our national unity.

The self acclaimed prestigious International NGO that ordinarily ought to be unbiased and unblemished, lost focus and became a lethal weapon of mass destruction. Their reports are tissues of lies that many countries are now refusing to believe. The story has been the same in US, Israel, Russia, Iran, etc. AI’s reputation has been ridiculed by its limited understanding of armed conflict leading to erroneous claims and incorrect analysis.

The brave soldiers and officers of the Nigerian military has shown enough courage and capacity to crush the Boko Haram insurgency. The army has profoundly decimated the terror groups and banished remnants into the fringes of the Chad border and regained many territories that were hitherto under the control of Boko Haram terrorists. If Amnesty International cannot cooperate with the government to end terrorism in the country, the least it could do is to be fair and unbiased in its reportage.