David Falt, President of the Global Amnesty Watch, GAW, has called on the international community to watch keenly the activities of the Amnesty International in Nigeria.
Falt said the call became necessary following AI’s constant reports on insurgency and counter-insurgency in the country.
Addressing a world press conference in London on Friday, a copy of the text, which was mailed to our reporter, Falt said the recent damning report entitled, “Harvest of Death Three Years of Bloody Clashes between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria” released by Amnesty International was aimed at disrupting the peace of the country.
He, therefore, urged the Nigerian government to increase security in areas where the report is likely to cause reprisal so that law enforcement agencies will not be caught unawares.
His words, “The country faced other problems. In the space of time it gave Boko Haram the deserved attention, its focus was to be threatened to the point of derailment by (1) Niger Delta Militants that wage war on economic infrastructure with the tacit support of some politicians (2) Separatist movements in the south east of the country, notably Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) and smaller group that were agitating for the restoration of the defunct Republic of Biafra (3) marauding killers associated with farmers/herders’ clashes that often massacred entire communities (4) bandits and cattle rustlers in the country’s northwest (5) inter-communal clashes that are hidden under any of the preceding crises (6) the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) that has continued to wage running battles with security agencies on the streets.
“The farmers/herders’ crisis, closely related to the cattle rustling and banditry in the north-west presents an interesting case that the world must address.
GAW is, therefore, taken aback by “Harvest of Death Three Years of Bloody Clashes between Farmers and Herders in Nigeria,” a report by Amnesty International on the farmers/herders’ clashes in Nigeria. That organization took the simplistic position that the Nigerian Government and military did not do enough to protect communities from massacre.
“In spite of the claims of thoroughness made in its methodology, it appears Amnesty International was resolved to create blockbuster report as against providing details that will make meaningful contributions to peace building.
While the entire report is replete with over dramatization, certain specific aspects expose the intentions of the NGO cause strife in Nigeria and perhaps move onwards from there to disrupt the entire West African sub-region.
“In essence, Amnesty International singled out some ethnic groups in Nigeria and passed death sentences on them. Nigeria must now race against time to do crisis management and prevent the reprisals that will follow the identification of certain ethnic groups. There is danger of the report sparking fresh rounds of killing, which is most unfortunate as it would roll back the progress that group like GAW have made in building peace across ethnic divides.
“We further advise the government to increase security in areas where the report is likely to cause reprisal so that law enforcement agencies will not be caught unawares.”
- DAILY POST
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