ABUJA – The Coalition of Civil Society Group (CCSG) has described the Amnesty International (AI) report indicting the Nigerian Military as “vindictive, prejudicial and lacking in basic facts.’’
President of CCSG, Mr. Etuk Bassey-Williams, stated this during a protest by the group to the UN Country Representative office in Abuja.
The CCSG is an umbrella body of all Civil Society in Nigeria registered under the laws.
It will be recalled that AI had published a report indicting the Nigerian Military for war crimes, calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to probe and charge some senior Nigerian military officers before the court.
“After critical study of the recently released report by AI tagged, ‘stars on their shoulders, blood on their hands’ in which some senior Nigerian military officers, serving and retired were indicted for war crimes.
“The coalition of civil society groups unequivocally wish to state without mincing words that the report has been found to be vindictive and lacking in basic facts.
“This is at variance with our independent assessment and findings conducted on the war against terror in Nigeria,’’ Bassey-Williams said.
He said that, the report was targeted at some military officers, “for whatever reasons best known to AI,’’ adding that the report was questionable and lacked objectivity.
Bassey-Williams also said that the report was meant to blackmail the Nigerian military and stampede President Muhammadu Buhari to turn against the military in the fight against the insurgency.
He said an independent findings by the group showed that it was difficult for the Nigerian military to identify members of the insurgency groups because they were using women and children for their attacks.
The CCSG president also stated that the operations of the insurgents, forcefully recruiting teenagers and young girls, put the military in line of danger and unavoidable risk during its fight against terror.
“Investigation shows that the Boko Haram insurgents are not only an Islamic fundamentalists fighting for the enthronement of a caliphate in the north-east but a ruthless, mindless and blood thirsty sect with no respect for human lives.
“The groups have been responsible for the slaughtering of over 15, 000 Nigerians in the most horrible manner and the abduction and raping of thousands of women and children,’’ he said.
According to Bassey-Williams, the allegations by AI against Nigerian Military suggested an international conspiracy by world powers, considering the fact that they declined selling weapons to Nigeria to fight the insurgents.
He admonished the AI to stop the campaign of calumny against the Nigerian Military in order not to dampen the morale of the soldiers, who were laying down their lives daily to end the insurgency.
Bassey-Williams said that the AI should be objective, meticulous and holistic in its assessment and investigation rather than playing politics with terrorism.
He said the AI should condemn the activities of Boko-Haram and call for the trial of its leaders instead of leading vindictive campaign against Nigerian Military.
Chief of Army Staff General Kenneth Minimah.
