New findings have revealed that the Human Rights group, Amnesty International and some foreign non-governmental organizations are behind the elongation of the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria. This was revealed in an investigative report by civil society organization, Centre for African Liberation and Socio-Economic Rights (CASLER).
According to the findings of the investigative report, it was stated that Amnesty International has been acting as the intellectual arm of the Boko Haram group by amongst many other things assisting in the recruitment of members for the Boko Haram group through covert means.
“The activities of Amnesty International in Nigeria are quite despicable and injurious to the overall campaign of the Nigerian Army in the prosecution of the Boko Haram war in North-East Nigeria. A cursory look at their activities reveals lots of underhand dealings that seek to promote the activities of the Boko Haram group.”
“Our investigations revealed that Amnesty International was hired by some vested interest to publish damaging reports on the operations of the Nigerian Army emphasizing on human rights violations and extrajudicial killings of innocent people and other despicable acts.”
The report further stated that the overarching aim is to prevent some western countries from selling arms to Nigeria in prosecuting the Boko Haram war effectively.
“Amnesty International aside publishing negative reports about the operations of the Nigerian Army, it is also using its wide network to prevent the sale of arms to Nigeria citing lack of respect for human rights and a total disregard for the rules of engagement in warfare. This they do with lots of mischiefs because whenever the Nigerian Army is making gains, Amnesty International would either issue a report or a press statement-making wide allegations against the Nigerian Army.”
Another highlight of the report is the facilitation of ransom payment to Boko Haram Terrorist and running propaganda machinery for the Boko Haram group.
“The activities of Amnesty International also transcends into facilitating the payment of ransoms to the Boko Haram terrorist group through its wide network. It was also established that the bulk of the monies received by Boko Haram were wired through mediums covertly controlled by representatives of Amnesty International in Nigeria and some francophone countries.”
“The network is such that a certain percentage is wired back to Amnesty International in the form of grants for its operations in Nigeria and other African countries. There was a particular instance where a large tranche of money was wired to the Nigerian account of Amnesty International under the nomenclature “Intervention Funds in North-East Nigeria.” The source of the money was from a province in France by an International NGO involved in the humanitarian crisis in Mali.”
The report also described the role of International NGOs in operation in North-East Nigeria as aiding and abetting the activities of the Boko Haram group in the provision of logistic supplies such as arms and ammunition, as well as medical supplies.
“Some International NGOs in North-East Nigeria have been providing the Boko Haram group with logistic supplies under the guise of providing humanitarian assistance to victims of the Boko Haram crisis. They go as far carrying out espionage activities for the Boko Haram group by obtaining details of operational strategies of the Nigerian Military and subsequently passing same to the leadership of the Boko Haram group.”
“The International NGOs do not want the Boko Haram crisis to come to an end because it has become an avenue for justifying more funding from donor agencies and countries and their continued stay in Nigeria. There are several established instances where the Military intercepted some INGOs conveying large amounts of monies under the guise of buying medical supplies and food items for IDPs.”
“The numbers of INGOs in North-East Nigeria are innumerable and under various nomenclatures. There are also established cases where identity cards of INGOs were found on some Boko Haram terrorists by the Nigerian Military in some of its various clearance operations, especially in Borno state.”
The report, in its conclusion, alerted the military authorities to the nefarious activities of INGOs in North-East Nigeria and the need for proactive steps to be taken by the relevant authorities in Nigeria. It further recommended that the Nigerian authorities should undertake proactive measures that would nip in the bud the activities of sympathizers of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
“The Nigerian government must act by expelling all International NGOs from the theatre of war in North-East Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities must, as a matter of urgency proscribe Amnesty International as a terrorist organization and address the humanitarian crisis through the National Emergency Management Agency.”
“The Nigerian government should channel all donations for humanitarian assistance through a central office in Abuja and restrict the movement of foreign nationals into the northeast theatre of operation if it is desirous of bringing the Boko Haram crisis in North-East Nigeria.”
It would be recalled that there have been calls for the expulsion of Amnesty International from Nigeria for acts that promote the activities of Boko Haram terrorist and other militant groups in Nigeria.