The Nigerian Army has accused Amnesty International of publishing a false report against members of the military operating in the North East.
According to a statement by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General John Agim, the military has “credible intelligence” about the plan and that the report contains claims of fictitious rape incidents in internally displaced persons’ camps in the insurgency-ravaged North East.
The military is unhappy with what it says is becoming a frequent ritual by the human rights watchdog, which had previously accused it of rights violations.
Agim warned that the planned unsavory report by amnesty and such reports were capable of demoralising its members and hurting the war against insurgency.
He assured Nigerians that it remained committed to abiding by all human rights regulations endorsed by the country and carry out its constitutional role. It, however, called on Amnesty to “desist from cooking reports from time to time to demoralise the entire military system and nation as a whole.”
Stressing that troops are sacrificing their lives in the fight against Boko Haram and other enemies of the country, the military called for an end to reports it described as fictitious.
The statement read, “This malicious trend by AI is becoming a frequent ritual and it is rather unfortunate. “In times like this, Amnesty International is expected to apply the natural law of liaison by working with security agencies as partners.
“This would have been the best way to ensure that insurgency and crisis are completely wiped off rather than engaging in falsehood, maligning the military and painting her in bad light at any slight opportunity.
“These false reports which are capable of derailing the good work being done by our patriotic and selfless soldiers must stop.”
Tags
Society