"We find it strange to come to terms with the current realities that Amnesty International has become another Army Against our tro...
"We find it strange to come to terms with the current realities that Amnesty International has become another Army Against our troops. It is public knowledge that no institution is responsive to reports of bad behaviour, misconduct and other forms of indiscipline like the military," the group said.
The Coalition Against Terrorism and Extremism (CATE) has accused Amnesty International (AI) of cooking its report that accused men of the Nigerian Army and the Civilian Joint Task Force of raping and killing women displaced by Boko Haram.
In the report, titled 'They betrayed us' and released on Thursday, the international rights group had accused the military of separating women from their husbands, detaining them and raping them in exchange for sex. AI said it had proof that thousands of people had been starved to death in the Internally Displaced Peosns camps in Borno State, north-east Nigeria, since 2015.
However, responding in a statement on Friday, Mr. Gabriel Onoja, National Coordinator of CATE, said AI’s report was “cooked” with the aim to smear the reputation of the Nigerian Army.
“This allegation against the Nigerian military is unfortunate because the military as an institution is one that prides itself on the strict discipline and character moulding of its men from the day they enlist to when they leave,” Onoja said.
“We have absolute confidence in the conduct of our military, particularly those deployed on special operations, and find it strange to come to terms with the current realities that Amnesty International has become another Army Against our troops. It is public knowledge that no institution is responsive to reports of bad behaviour, misconduct and other forms of indiscipline like the military.
“That is why within any military setting, you will find the full complement of ensuring compliance with rules and regulations and for punishing acts of wrong doing like the appointment of provosts, RSMs, the building of guard rooms and the setting aside of tasking drills for punishment to erring men and officers.”
He noted that Amnesty International have done some good works in the world in the past but its current intervention in Nigeria since the war against insurgency intensified “leaves much to be desired especially at a time when the terrorists have been virtually defeated”.
“Who does Amnesty International protect? Who pays Amnesty International to execute these heinous briefs against our military? Onoja asked.
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