Rights groups declares Amnesty International enemy of Nigeria

Human rights groups under the aegis of Coalition in Defence of Sovereignty and Human Rights has declared the global rights body, Amnesty International (AI), as an enemy of Nigeria. The group was reacting to the recent revelation that AI has set aside over N10bn which it has started distributing to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), senior […]

Human rights groups under the aegis of Coalition in Defence of Sovereignty and Human Rights has declared the global rights body, Amnesty International (AI), as an enemy of Nigeria.

The group was reacting to the recent revelation that AI has set aside over N10bn which it has started distributing to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), senior lawyers and ‘cash and carry’ activists to destabilize the country.

Speaking at a protest march to the Amnesty International office in Surulere, Lagos on Wednesday, national coordinator of the group, Adumashi Ayokunle said they would no longer fold their arms and watch those he tagged as ‘marauding horde’ ruin the nation.

Members of the group brandished banners with inscriptions such as:  "Amnesty International, we are ashamed of you"; "AI leave Nigeria alone’; "FG, expel Amnesty International from Nigeria"; and "Amnesty International, what do you want?”

From the AI’s office in Surulere, the protesters moved through Barracks to NTA Tejuosho singing and dancing, warning AI to desist from meddling into the country’s affairs as Nigeria is an independent country.

Ayokunle, who led the protesters said the recent revelation was a clear indication that Amnesty International is practically treating Nigerians like farmed game kept for the twisted pleasure of trophy hunters.

He accused the AI of planning to destabilize the country in conjunction with terror groups like Boko Haram, Niger Delta militants, among others.

According to Ayokunle, it is an insult that Amnesty International has N10 billion earmarked for Nigeria and all it could think of is how to use that fund to cause greater misery instead of deploying it to improve the lives of Nigerians.

He said, “There have been reports that what we thought were innocuous is seriously insidious. Amnesty International that we had always seen as the friend of the helpless common man has proven to be the problem of the common man.

“Going by these reports,  Amnesty International is practically treating Nigerians like farmed game that was kept for the twisted pleasure of trophy hunters. What we had thought was a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is working to advance human rights was in reality only setting the Nigerian population for a great slaughter that it will use to retire its books.”

“Amnesty International is reportedly recruiting indigenous NGOs and CSOs to actualize a final descent into chaos. We are most disappointed that this plot was hatched in conjunction with terror groups like Boko Haram, Niger-Delta Militants and IPOB secessionists.

“Most unfortunately, Amnesty International has not been able to convince Nigerians otherwise that it does not harbor such plan. It has done nothing to assure our country that it does not have such ugly agenda for us,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government to treat the development with all the seriousness it deserves and that Amnesty International should vacate Nigeria until a probe of the issue is concluded.

Efforts to speak with AI’s office in Lagos proved abortive as its office in Lagos was shut.