Some foreign bodies are aggravating Nigeria’s security challenges by frustrating the anti-terror battle, the Federal Government raised the alarm on Monday.
Minister of Information Lai Mohammed said on Monday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) and some human rights organisations, including Amnesty International (AI) are colluding against the government’s efforts to tackle insecurity.
The minister said the attitude of these groups was demoralising the armed forces and other security agencies having constituted themselves into “another fighting force.”
Mohammed accused them of putting national security in jeopardy by threatening troops with litigations at the ICC.
The minister, who spoke with reporters in Lagos on the state of the nation, highlighted government’s efforts on security, anti-COVID battle, the economy, agriculture, the oil sector, infrastructure, power and border drill.
Mohammed said Nigeria is fending off attacks on many fronts, not just from terrorists and bandits, but from these international organisations.
He lamented that a section of the local media had been parroting these organisations without weighing the impact of their constant threats on national security.
He said: “The Federal Government frowns at this unbridled attempt to demoralise our security men and women as they confront the onslaught from bandits and terrorists. Nigeria did not join the ICC so it can become a pawn on the court’s chessboard.
“It beggars belief to see that a nation that is fighting an existential war against bandits and terrorists is constantly being held down by an international body, which it willingly joined.”
Noting that Nigeria is a sovereign state, Mohammed said the country will not surrender its sovereignty to any organisation.
He warned the ICC, AI and their allies to desist from threatening those at the battle fronts.
Mohammed said: “Enough is enough. It is sad that these organisations mostly rely on fake news and disinformation to reach their conclusions, as witnessed during the Endsars protest when CNN – an otherwise respected global news network – went to town with fake news of a massacre.
“As it turned out, it was a massacre without bodies. As you are aware, we called CNN out and also petitioned the network. Though they acknowledged receipt of our petition, we have yet to hear from them on what actions they intend to take to prevent a recurrence of the fake news they peddled about Nigeria. I can assure you, gentlemen, that the matter is far from over.”
Mohammed said despite the antics of another ‘fighting force’ against Nigeria, the country had made tremendous progress in tackling banditry and Boko Haram insurgency.
He lamented that “some jaundiced analysts and their lapdogs had sought to portray Nigeria as a failing state, based on the security challenges.”
The minister said: “Nigeria is not and cannot be a failing or failed state. Of course, you would remember that for the past two decades or so, some pseudo-analysts have been predicting the country’s implosion.