By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
A civil society group, Nigeria Safety and Peace Solidarity Movement (NSPSM) on wednesday accused Amnesty International of blowing Nigeria’s security situation out of proportion.
The group stated this during a press briefing in Abuja.
NSPSM Secretary, Andrew Paul Kato who briefed the press said Amnesty International report on Nigeria is exaggerated.
Kato said the report does not reflect what is on ground at the moment.
“Amnesty International report is not true representation of efforts by the Nigerian government, especially the Armed Forces of Nigeria under the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Chris. Musa.
“One thing we find intriguing about Amnesty International in the Nigeria situation is that the organisation is blowing hot and cold.
“They will tell you that at least 10,217 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau Sokoto and Zamfara state. They said Benue state accounts for the highest death toll of 6,896, followed by Plateau state, where 2,630 people were killed.
“Later they will say arrested terrorists and gunmen are being denied their human rights. Amnesty International will say they are speaking for affected Nigerians and later come to speak for perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity.
“It makes discerning Nigerians to ask who Amnesty International is really working for. Are they for Nigerians or against Nigerians?
What do they really want from Nigeria?
“We have also observed that Amnesty International have never at any time strongly condemned the activities of those perpetrating these crimes against innocent Nigerians.
“What is the essence of the report? To raise alarm? Cause Nigerians to begin to attack each other? Dampen troops morale? Or make government and the military look incapable?
“We are confused because the AI report did not exhaustively look at what President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the Armed forces are doing to tackle the security challenges.
“We are not saying there are no issues on ground, what we are saying is that what is being done outweigh the alarm being raised by Amnesty International.
“It is unfortunate Amnesty International went to the extent of getting a one sided interview from a resident of Maru local government Zamfara state to portray the Nigerian authorities as failures.
“Why did Amnesty International not go to areas where the military is decimating the terrorists to get a balanced report? Is there something they are hiding or desperate to achieve in Nigeria?
“We are not surprised because the Nigerian authorities have repeatedly accused some outside forces of having ulterior motives in what is happening in Nigeria.
“Globally, security challenges are intensifying as competition for political and economic benefits intensify. However, AI is deliberately blowing the situation in our country out of proportion.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria under the present leadership from our investigation are not folding their hands and allowing citizens to be killed. Much is being done to tackle the challenges. Some of the efforts of the military is not being disclosed for some reasons.
“We are using this medium to strongly condemn and reject in totality the one sided report. It is not true.
“Rather, our security agents with the support of the federal government are working tirelessly to protect the country.
“We urge Nigerians to support our troops, they are working for us. Let us collectively reject any group working to cause disharmony and deepen the security challenges in our country,” the Group added.
