Amnesty International, lawyers  should be ashamed for failing to prove allegations against military before presidential panel – Truth and Justice

The Coalition for Truth and Justice (CTJ) has aimed jibes at Amnesty International for failing to prove allegations of human rights abuses against the Nigerian Military before the presidential panel despite hiring a team of international lawyers.

The acclaimed humanitarian group had claimed it “received credible evidence that as the military regained control, more than 600 people, mostly unarmed recaptured detainees, were extra-judicially executed in various locations across Maiduguri”

However, AI’s legal team were unable to backup this bogus allegation before the presidential panel and CTJ reckoned its the group’s usual “campaign of calumny” against the gallant troops.

National Secretary, Barrister Abiodun Sodiq Babalola in a press conference in Abuja on Monday said it monitored the military’s activities and found AI’s claims to be totally false.

It further revealed that AI lawyers relied on “ newspaper reports and news items planted in the media as it was not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the allegations were indeed genuine”.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice, therefore, warned Amnesty International and its sponsored proxies to discontinue its propaganda of mischief against the Nigerian Military with immediate effect.

Failure to do so, however, the group said would attract the full wrath of Nigerians.

Read full report below:

The leadership of the Coalition for Truth and Justice welcomes you all to the important press conference in light of the allegations of human rights violations by the Nigerian Military in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist group and other militant groups in Nigeria.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice, as a critical stakeholder in the fight against terrorism and other militant activities in Nigeria, has monitored the activities of the Nigerian Military with regards to the use of force in the discharge of their various operations.

This is also on the heels that, in some quarters, clamors were rife that the Nigerian Military engages the use of maximum force, and grossly violates human rights in their various operations.

It is on record that the Federal Government of Nigeria had inaugurated an eight-man Presidential Investigation Panel to Review Compliance of the Armed Forces with Human Rights’ Obligations and Rules of Engagement in 2017.

We wish to state that this presidential investigative panel was mandated to “the review of extant rules of engagement applicable to Armed Forces of Nigeria and the extent of compliance thereto.

To investigate alleged acts of violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended; the Geneva Convention Act; the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Ratification and Enforcement Act and other relevant laws by the Armed Forces in local conflicts and insurgencies.

“To investigate matters of conduct and discipline in the armed forces in local conflicts and insurgencies; “To recommend the means of preventing violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws in conflict situations, and to make further recommendations in line with these terms of reference as may be deemed necessary.

We consequently wish to state that Amnesty International in operation in Nigeria made over 150 submissions against the Nigeria Military through its lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) as well as some other international human rights lawyers to support their claims that the Nigerian Military has consistently violated human rights in its operations.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice wishes to state that the Presidential Investigative panel absolved the Nigerian Military of human rights violations as the brilliant lawyers engaged by Amnesty International could not prove that the Nigeria Military indeed violated human rights in their operations.

The lawyers relied on newspaper reports and news items planted in the media by Amnesty International as it was not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the allegations were indeed genuine.

We wish to state that since the countering of the claims of human rights violations by Amnesty International by the Presidential Investigative Panel, Amnesty International has elected to continue its campaign of calumny against the Nigerian Military using proxies.

We have it on competent authority on how Amnesty International is now sponsoring some local NGOs to run a campaign of calumny against the Military in recent times. This fact can be seen with the flurry of allegations on human rights violations against the Nigerian Military.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice wishes to inform the members of the general public that Amnesty International as an organization has been adequately mobilized by some enemies of Nigeria that are covertly sponsoring violence in Nigeria to continue to use its platform to distract and discredit the Nigerian Military, especially in this period that the Nigerian Military is making significant gains in the war against terrorism in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country.

It is also on record that Amnesty International, in their usual fashion of making bogus and unsubstantiated claims on human rights violations, is primarily propelled by pecuniary benefits and not in the interest of human rights.

This trademark of Amnesty International is the order of the day in all the countries it is in operation. The insincerity of Amnesty International is indeed legendary with the fact that their activity is fraught with lies, deceit, selection bias, fraud, and as well as an ideology and foreign policy bias against either non-Western countries or Western-supported countries.

It is worthy of mention that countries such as Israel, Congo, China, and Chile to mention but a few have complained about Amnesty International’s one-sided reporting, and failure to treat threats to security as a mitigating factor.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice wishes to use this medium to inform Nigerians that Amnesty International is a fraudulent international organization that does exactly what it accuses others of. Sufficing to mention that in February 2019, Amnesty International’s management team offered to resign after an independent report by Konterra group found what it called a “toxic culture” of workplace bullying, as well as numerous evidence of bullying, harassment, sexism and racism in the organization.

The Coalition for Truth and Justice wishes to state in unequivocal terms that Nigeria, as a sovereign country, is duty-bound to protect its civilian population and is doing just that within the ambit of the law.

Nigerians are also duty-bound to see through the gimmick of Amnesty International and understand that its aim is nothing but to destabilize Nigeria just like it did in some countries. Nigerians must, in one voice, resist and rebuke the shenanigans of Amnesty International.

We consequently wish to use this medium to warn Amnesty International and its sponsored proxies to discontinue the campaign of calumny against the Nigerian Military with immediate effect.

Nigerians have indeed had enough of its nefarious activities. As such, it must desist from it or face the full wrath of Nigerians. Amnesty International must understand that Nigeria is not a banana republic, but one with extreme regard and respect for human rights in line with international humanitarian and human rights laws.

I thank you all for listening, and it is hoped that Amnesty International would heed to wise counsel at this material time as its destabilization plot has failed.