Allegation of 10,000 Deaths: Amnesty International Past its Shelf Life – Centre
…advises Amnesty International to Fold Up Voluntarily
The African Centre for Human Rights and Rule of Law has berated Amnesty International for its latest report that claimed that alleged that as many as 10, 000 persons have died in the custody of the Nigerian Army since the start of the Boko Haram.
Head of the centre, Grace Ameh (esq) declared that an organisation that is past its shelf life and relevance, like Amnesty International, should have focused its efforts on voluntarily winding down instead of futilely attempting to use Nigeria to rehabilitate its globally battered image after it emerged as a toothless lapdog that failed to prevent unfolding genocides.
Ameh, while reacting to Amnesty International’s report in Abuja, noted that “the organisation has become a shadow of its old self to the extent that it could not even script a creative strategy for distracting the military from achieving its objective of securing Nigeria from terrorists.
“One would have thought that Amnesty International would have by now put an end to its deployment of blatant lies, fake news, falsehood and conjecture in carrying out its supposed work in Nigeria. Instead, it came up with this disingenuous report to attempt to distract the Military from liberating citizens being held by Boko Haram terrorists.
“Nigerians must understand that their military has evolved into a highly professional fighting force that adheres to the tenets of human rights, rule of law and rules of engagement in the discharge of its duties. A military that has gained international recognition for how its operations meet global best practices cannot be the same one that Amnesty International is referring to.
“The report we saw from Amnesty International is not worth being called that name because it is deficient in facts and based on allegations that lack substantial evidence and equally failed to consider the complexities of the prevailing security situation in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian military has asserted on several occasions that it operates under strict rules of engagement and adheres to international human rights standards, which Amnesty International has not been able to disprove save amplifying isolated that are not reflective of the overall conduct of the military.
“We find it irresponsible of Amnesty International to completely disregard the efforts of the Nigerian government to investigate and address any reported abuses, demonstrating a commitment to accountability and transparency,” Ameh stressed.
The Center challenged Amnesty International to stop treating Nigeria like a crime scene, which it always returned to whenever its image is dwindling, but instead focus on issues like the unfolding tragedy in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
“But we know that Amnesty International will rather continue to rehash its previously discredited reports under different titles and manipulated contexts instead of acting to stop the unfolding human catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.
“We know that its failure to be relevant in the global call for action against the atrocities in these places was the reason it wants to lie against the Nigerian military to redeem itself, which is a wasted effort.
“We urge Amnesty International’s Nigeria Office to, in future, consider using its available media space and reports to address recent revelations of fraud and collusion with terrorists made by its former staff members and external whistleblowers against whom it had secured gag orders from the courts,” Ameh demanded.
