The Amnesty International has continued to receive knocks over its misleading report tagged “Harvest of Death Three Years of Bloody Clashes between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria.
The London-based organization which focuses on human rights wasn’t sparred by Nigerians who have lashed out at the group over its latest episode of fallacy.
In President Muhammadu Buhari’s words, “it is geared towards damaging the morale of the Nigerian military.”
It is therefore on this ground that the Middlebelt Conscience Guard has acted, accusing the international organization’s report as “an agglomeration of series of events that have been reported, discussed, analyzed and acted upon by Nigerians and their leaders.”
Prince Onoja Ugwu, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the group raised this alarm on Tuesday in a press release in Abuja.
According to Mr Ugwu, AI is only acting the script of its sponsors who appears hell bent on undermining the remarkable gains of the Nigerian Army and peace of the country.
“The Nigerian Military made progress in dealing with the Boko Haram problem the moment the farmers/herders’ crisis was brought under control; since they do not have to contend with multiple deployments they are able to concentrate resources in countering the terrorists. Should this international NGO succeed in provoking fresh attacks with its report, the military will again be deployed to the affected hotspots, only that this time around the reprisals will be simultaneous across the country. This would stretch the military thin and give room for all security challenges in the country to fester, “ he stated.
“The report mischievously accuse the government and the military of not doing enough to protect people from being attacked and killed. It went on to add the fiction that response time is often slow and could take days. But the reality is that this same Amnesty International will accuse troops of war crime in situation when they are able to engage the killers in gun battle – they accuse the military of killing civilians when the killers get killed. This scenario is as confusing as it is harebrained. One minute it is the military is not doing anything, the next minute it is that the military has used excessive force.
“It is therefore apparent that the Amnesty International report has no connection with improving conditions of human rights in Nigeria. Rather, it appears aimed at:
“ Provide negative campaign material for the opposition, whose members are known to have severally been in contact with INEC staffers.
“Discredit the Nigerian Military as capable of securing the country when this same military has performed superlatively in the face of arms sales blockades motivated by Amnesty International.
“Re-ignite the farmers/herders’ clashes after several months of lull that is being explored to rebuild trust and relationship by the country.
“Create a failed nation where Amnesty International can sit back in the armchair to continue writing fictitious reports about “dire living conditions”.
“Bearing the foregoing in mind, we call on the international community to note the evil being perpetrated by Amnesty international in Nigeria. The world should note that the group is actively manufacturing dissent and crises that it is launching in Nigerian to the detriment of the rights of citizens here.
“What Amnesty International has done is worse than the actual farmers/herders’ crisis, which is to cause the warring parties to resume hostilities and escalate the killings. We have genuine concerns that people will resume murdering each other in response to the Amnesty International’s report. It is on this note that we categorically state that we shall hold Amnesty International responsible for any resumption of the farmers/herders’ crisis same as we will hold it liable for any reprisal that takes place in the aftermath of the publication.
“We warn that Amnesty International should immediately mitigate the crisis it has instigated failing which we shall activate citizens’ action against it within the limits permissible in the law. We will not watch helplessly while they destroy our country and run back to enjoy the blood money they have been paid to cause damage to Nigeria.
“We have accepted that Amnesty International is the latest terrorist group operating in Nigeria, harassing the government and law abiding citizens with its contrived crises. Let this international NGO know that Nigerians are not helpless when it comes to dealing with its excesses.”
