The Global Amnesty Watch,GAW yesterday said the latest report released by Amnesty International,AI on the killing of civilians by Nigerian Army should be discarded
GAW President, Philip Agbese who addressed a world press conference in Abuja in reaction to the report by AI said it should be discarded in its entirety.
He said the latest report is an effort to undermine the integrity of Nigeria using diverse means and platforms.
"Some of these tricks are so well managed that some of us innocently applaud them by thinking they are in our national interest. The reverse is however the case.
"The Global Amnesty Watch, an organization that is not biased but out to address the use of international NGOs by some big countries to undermine their territorial integrity, sovereignty and the national laws of that country, is rightly concerned that the plots to destabilize otherwise stable countries is gathering pace instead of slowing down in the face of global outrage over the damage being done.
"In this country, the plot manifests in the form of an international NGO, Amnesty International (AI).
"As you would have noted in the past, this entity has issued several reports that openly lie against Nigeria, its government and critical institution, apparently with the sole intent of undermining them.
"There have been instances in the past where the ability of Nigerian troops to adequately respond to terror threats and incidents was significantly compromised because of the activities of this organisation.
"Amnesty International has however taken the ridiculous to a new low this week with the release of a report in which it openly sided with terrorists, insurgents, separatists and fifth columnists while treating Nigerians as the enemies. As has been the case in the past, while it may have other motives in other countries, the intention in Nigeria is to blackmail military and security institutions into not being able to discharge their statutory duties.
"The section on Nigeria in Amnesty International’s annual State of the World’s Human Rights report is therefore the latest in a long running series of criminal conspiracy to incite disaffection aimed at destabilizing Nigeria.
"As you all know, there have been concerted efforts to undermine the integrity of Nigeria using diverse means and platforms. Some of these tricks are so well managed that some of us innocently applaud them by thinking they are in our national interest. The reverse is however the case.As you would have noted in the past, this entity has issued several reports that openly lie against Nigeria, its government and critical institution, apparently with the sole intent of undermining them. There have been instances in the past where the ability of Nigerian troops to adequately respond to terror threats and incidents was significantly compromised because of the activities of this organisation.
"Amnesty International has however taken the ridiculous to a new low this week with the release of a report in which it openly sided with terrorists, insurgents, separatists and fifth columnists while treating Nigerians as the enemies. As has been the case in the past, while it may have other motives in other countries, the intention in Nigeria is to blackmail military and security institutions into not being able to discharge their statutory duties. The section on Nigeria in Amnesty International’s annual State of the World’s Human Rights report is therefore the latest in a long running series of criminal conspiracy to incite disaffection aimed at destabilizing Nigeria.
Agbese said, "It is unfortunate that rather than face the reality and point out the state actors that are exporting suffering across the world, AI is pursuing a sick obsession of defending killer groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and even accused the Military of being harsh in its operations against Boko Haram even when it admitted that the terror group was committing crimes against humanity.
"These groups have at various times carried out unwarranted attacks on peace-loving Nigerians and even members of the Nigerian military, the Nigerian Police Force and other law enforcement agencies have not been spared as they randomly and regularly get killed in the course of trying to stop attacks on Nigerians.
He said AI threaded a dishonourable path with suggestions that those who commit crimes against the law of the land can hide under the cover of ‘ human rights’ to evade the consequences of their actions. If its report is anything to go by those who slander others, peddle falsehood or steal tax payers’ money should be left unhindered and even encouraged to commit more of such crimes.
"The case between Amnesty International and the Nigerian authorities has taken on a ridiculous tone in view of what we as citizens live with on daily basis. The organization has failed to recognize the current threats the nation and its citizenry face under Boko Haram's campaign of terror and horror and its threat to the collective existence of man in this part of the world.
'It is what makes clear Amnesty International’s long running ambition to spread terrorism across the world, which could also be seen in its criticism of stable countries that have refused to take in refugees from terrorism wracked countries. It is then evident that while this group is demonizing nations that are battling terrorism it is setting the ground for killers to embed themselves among migrant populations to spread to these other peaceful countries.
"One can only wonder what AI’s fanatical commitment to spreading terrorism is all about. It simply does not make sense.
It does not make sense that countries like Libya, Iraq and Yemen were plunged into crisis mostly on the strength of doctored report from Amnesty International, which handed western coalitions the excuses they wanted to upturn these previously stable nations.
"In the case of this latest report issued by AI, lies have again been packaged as truth. The methodology of this organisation couldn’t have changed overnight. It consists of trawling news report – a method that has become even less viable given that fake news is one of the threats currently facing the world. Amnesty International also speaks with so called witnesses that have in the past been proven to be nothing but paid actors, especially when the NGO often speak with them over the phone and therefore unable to properly verify identities. The people it is usually able to speak with are celebrity activists, protesters or agitators that have vested interest along the lines of the testimony they are willing to give. The combination of all these, tempered with the usual reluctance to hear from the other side, makes the end product – the so called annual report, into a solid pack of lies" he said
Agbese said , "While AI may argue that it is working to ensure that state actors and non-state actors are held accountable for human rights related issues, it must know that globalization does not mean lawlessness. Every human rights issue has its own legal stand. Nigeria is a democracy and the country operates on the rule of law. No nation can survive without rule of law. With the previous and current report, is against rule of law where Nigeria, a sovereign state, is concerned. No external body can impose lawlessness on Nigeria in the name of fake compliance with human rights benchmarks.
Nigerians must say no to the erosion of its sovereignty through the false sense human rights protection antics of AI. AI cannot love Nigerians more than its government and its state institutions. Nigeria must say no to the deliberate weakening of its symbols of sovereignty and rule of law.
"It is in the context of the foregoing that the Global Amnesty Watch (GAW) is telling the world that Amnesty International has transited through the real of lesser relevance to becoming meaningless. We challenge AI to go to a country like the United States with record gun violence, police extra-judicial executions and state backed execution of records levels to peddle its ware. It should go to the US to restore the dignity of migrants and other persons whose lives have been threatened in recent times.
"Since the formation of GAW over one year ago, it has undertaken researches and visits to countries where the people are facing one threat or the other for the purpose of verifying the claims usually made my NGOs and other groups that profit from crisis. We have thus researched similar issues raised about the human rights context of the Nigerian state. Our report in this regard is in the making. At the risk of pre-empting the findings our report will come out with, we must note that the AI’s report totally contrasts with the revelations that our investigations came up with.
'We therefore unequivocally state that the AI report is biased, unprofessional, lacks merit and does not reflect the realities on ground. In due course, GAW shall unveil its own report for the world to know the truth and therefore the current report by AI should be discarded by Nigerians and every other right thinking citizens of the world.
"The truth is that the AI report is not only wrong but that the Nigerian Military should be commended for doing their best to halt threats to citizens as exemplified by Boko Haram, IPOB, Avengers and other groups complicit in crimes against humanity. Had the military allowed itself to be blackmailed into inaction as Amnesty International intended Boko Haram would have overrun the country by now while IPOB separatists with other criminal elements would have mutated into groups worse than Boko Haram.
"Whereas AI relies on two newspapers to write its report on countries across the world, Global Amnesty Watch, will ensure that it does not only visit scenes of incidents but will go further to consider actions with existing legislature and in conformity with the Universal Convention on Human Rights.
"Once again, we make bold to say the report dumped in public domain by Amnesty International is aimed at painting Nigeria black and to hand advantage to terrorists against the Nigerian State and to pave way for the killing of innocent citizens.
It's unfortunate, uncalled for and highly ridiculous and we will do all that is possible to make sure we continue to expose this atrocities"he said