The Amnesty International has been accused of commercializing falsehood and fomenting trouble in Nigeria through its constant unfounded reports on crises.
The Middle Belt Conscience Guard, which made this observation in Abuja, said it was worried over the recent report released by the international organisation which claimed harvests of death in Nigeria, following the persistent clashes between herders and farmers in the
country.
Addressing the media yesterday, Chairman, Board of Trustees of the group, Prince Onoja Ugwu, noted that “the report issued by Amnesty International dredged up old pictures and interviews, published and bestowed upon them a currency that has now re-opened old wounds”.
The group also warned 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.
“Let us state from the onset that we have perused the document in question and there is nothing new in it to justify the hype being generated for it through the intensive media marketing.
“The report is an agglomeration of series of events that have been reported, discussed, analyzed and acted upon by Nigerians and their leaders. Let us point out here that the incidents of farmers/herders’ clashes that is the theme upon which the report is based has become
infrequent, partly because stakeholders are acting on the decisions taken in the aftermath of the gruesome crises.
“For the affected communities to have carried on without renewal of hostilities in the period leading to elections is a testimony that something was being done right by those seeking solution to the crises. When these crises are so managed through dialogue then there
would be no need to draft the Nigerian military to restore order, which leaves troops out of the danger of being cited for human rights violation.
“It therefore seems that Amnesty International is missing the dark days when military personnel were deployed to quell farmers/herders’ crises because it is not able to accuse them of rights violation when they are not constrained to carry out the functions of a civil police.
“We have accepted that Amnesty International is the latest terrorist group operating in Nigeria, harassing the government and law abidingcitizens with its contrived crises. Let this international NGO know that Nigerians are not helpless when it comes to dealing with its
excesses.”
The State Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Alhaji Mala Musti while briefing newsmen, said the sum of N1,633,715,525.62 was approved as counterpart funding to SUBEB for the balance of 2016 and completion of 2017 joint SUBEB/UBEC projects.
Other projects approved include N167, 250, 680.10 for procurement of 100,000 copies of hand written Holy Qur’an to be distributed across the 17 local government councils.
Musti further said the sum of N160, 590, 150 and N200, 444, 400 were also approved for the supply of medical equipment to Women and Children Hospital, Damaturu as well as provision and installation of 176 units of double arm solar street lights and 18 units single solar street lights
at Potiskum, respectively.
Other project approved at the executive council meeting was provision and installation of 270 units of single arm solar street lights at Commissioners’ quarters Damaturu at the cost of N205, 537, 500.00
