Issue cease and desist notice to Amnesty International, ex-CP, Tsav to FG

By Dansu Peter

Retired Commissioner of Police, Public Complaints Commission, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, has advised the Federal Government to issue a cease and desist notice to Amnesty International (AI).

Tsav's charge follows the numerous calls by Nigerians and foreign observers for AI to be banned from the country and treated like a criminal organisation owing to traces of terrorism -motivated propaganda.

Originally focused on humanitarian works, AI appears to have embraced falsehood, deceit and conspiracy agenda, especially against the Nigerian state and efforts towards curtailing insecurity and terrorism .

The former Police Commissioner added his voice to the call for an end to Amnesty International’s activities in Nigeria  after examining the latest turn of events.

In a statement made public on Wednesday, Tsav believes the London-based group's apparent support for Niger Delta militants, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Islamic Movement in Nigeria and even tolerance of Boko Haram is good enough evidence.

“ Amnesty International recently launched what it described as its 8-Point Human Rights Agenda for Nigeria in what is the greatest slur and insult to the country yet from the international non-governmental organization. Although packaged in the veneer of good intentions, the action by Amnesty International must be viewed in the right context to appreciate the danger it portends,” he said.

“ A lot has been said about a destabilization agenda against Nigeria and one the predicted outcomes if this agenda was to succeed is the emergence of microstates that could be easily manipulated, controlled and owned by corporations. Amnesty International has been mentioned in different instances as implementing this agenda to break up Nigeria – its support for Niger Delta militants, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Islamic Movement in Nigeria and even its tolerance of Boko Haram is usually cited since these are all groups that are opposed to the existence of Nigeria or refuse to recognize its supremacy.

“ The organization’s approach to relating with the Federal Government and key national institutions has been that of belligerence, often accusing them of grievous crimes without proof. These faulty reports from Amnesty International have damaging consequences nonetheless as seen from the United States’ refusal to approve the sales of military hardware to Nigeria during the Obama era based on a petition from the NGO.

“ It is therefore pertinent for the Federal Government to ask if Amnesty International is already in a new phase of its destabilization agenda, the phase that entails the NGO testing the waters to see if Nigeria has become weak enough to take instructions and orders from it in the form of a shopping list christened 8-Point Human Rights Agenda for Nigeria.

“ The glaring reality is that this is exactly what the organization is doing. It is testing to see if Nigeria has become weak to the point of accepting directives from it so that it can then signal its clients to mobilize for the kill. What is perplexing is how Amnesty International has not presented the same kind of hare-brained assignment to countries that are in need of it, countries that are directly or indirectly fuelling the security breaches we are dealing with in Nigeria.

“ The Federal Government must therefore categorically reject the 8-Point Human Rights Agenda for Nigeria with a terse cease and desist notice to Amnesty International to stop meddling in the affairs of Nigeria. To the extent that even the supra-national organizations Nigeria belongs to have not handed down such demands, Amnesty International must be warned to respect boundaries and not meddle in the affairs of Nigeria.

“ As a country, we must further impress it on Amnesty International that it will held liable for any breach of peace that occurs in the aftermath of its demand. It will also be held accountable for any further degradation in the security breaches being addressed by the country.”