Protesters Barricade Amnesty International’s Office In Abuja
Over 1000 protesters, on Wednesday, besieged Abuja office of Amnesty International over what they described as plot to destabilise Nigeria.
The protesters who brandished various placards, alleged plans by Amnesty International to release a report they said would portray the Nigerian Army and Civilian JTF fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North East, as routinely detaining, starving, raping and killing women and minors.
Coordinator of the protest, Mr. Danesi Momoh, told newsmen that participants were members of various Civil Rights Groups in the country.
According to him, “This is the beginning. We will continue to occupy Amnesty International until it gets out of our country. With the tenacity the NGO has shown in its bid to destroy Nigeria, we will not pull back like we did the last time. We have had enough of its destabilizing lies and we say Amnesty International must leave now!” He said the decision of Amnesty International to only base its report on 2015-2018, was suspicious, saying “this confirms that whoever is financing its operations in Nigeria is angry that the tide was turned against their Boko Haram agents since the current political and military leadership took over the helms of affairs in 2015”.
He said: “It is sickening that Amnesty International can now be using its report to praise the dark era when cities as far south as Kogi state were under siege from Boko Haram terrorists.
“The AI used its so-called report to discredit the findings of other investigations that absolved the government and military of all blames while stating that the rules of engagement in military operations were professionally followed.
“The import of this unbecoming posture is that Nigeria is permitted to only exist and function at the pleasure of Amnesty International. “This international organization lied that people are being victimized, especially when they are perceived to be connected to Boko Haram and that the military was indiscriminately killing those who remained in their homes.
“It lied that its ghost researchers documented hundreds of thousands of deaths. The horrendous lies are so many that one is constrained to be searching for a single strand of truth in the entire document.” Momoh urged the Federal Government to consider request Civil Society Organizations made last year for AI to be kicked out of Nigeria.
“Civil Rights Groups at this march are willing to provide legal assistance to the government prosecution team to secure convictions of those that have used reports, doctored reports, to strengthen Boko Haram”, he added.
