Rann: Anti-Terrorism group says Amnesty International lied, calls for Sanctions
The Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria has described international right group, Amnesty International (AI) as agents of destabilization and "promoters" of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
The position of the Coalition came following a recent report by the AI, where it claimed that about 60 people were killed by the Boko Haram insurgents, during an imaginary attack on the town of Rann, in Northeast Nigeria, on the 28th of January, 2019, aftermath of a sudden withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the town, a day earlier.
The group said the report of the imaginary attack and killing of 60 people, by AI was a pure lie aimed at further tarnishing the image of the Nigerian military in the fight against the insurgents, a situation which the coalition described as being unfortunate and callous.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji, the Convener of the group, said that as a group, they have come to realize that Amnesty international have outlived it's usefulness in Nigeria, and that Nigerians, no matter the dastardly script of Amnesty International will continue to applaud the efforts of the Military, especially the Nigerian Army aimed at placing the interests of humanity above other considerations.
Odeyemi further said Nigerians would not stop interrogating the reason behind AI's penchant for spreading falsehood against the Nigerian military, as this clearly showcases that AI Nigeria is a bunch of fifth columnists pretending to be human rights organizations in the country.
"As patriotic Nigerians, we are deeply worried about the impact that the lies of Amnesty International could have on international support for the war against terrorism in Nigeria and the negative pull they have on the morale of Soldiers that are sacrificing their lives to keep the rest of the citizens safe."
"In considering the unrepentant commitments of AI, towards destabiling not only the morale of our military but also the innocent victims of the violence being visited on us by these insurgents, we wish to restate our earlier call, for the expulsion of Amnesty International from Nigeria". It is disturbing that AI has continued to run its campaign of attrition against the Nigerian Army and have now advanced into making media statements on behalf of the Boko Haram insurgents. Is it not worrisome that even when the insurgents never laid any claim to a successful attack on Rann, on January 28, the AI was all over the media, making such frivolous claim about an attack which it said, claimed 60 lives."
While the Coalition averred that it has instructed it's Solicitors to explore all legal avenues of compelling the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency expel AI from Nigeria, we are also calling on the Attorney General of the Federation to immediately initiate the process of reviewing the legal status of AI in Nigeria, while we also calling for the arrest, interrogation and prosecution of the operatives of AI in Nigeria for giving covert support to Boko Haram and AI Nigeria attempt to undermine our nation's security policies.