Days after announcing a ban on the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the Nigerian Army, on Monday accused the local arm of Amnesty International plotting to destabilize the nation.
In a statement by Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director Army Public Relations, the Army says it “has no option than to call for the closure of Amnesty International offices in Nigeria, if such recklessness continues.”
He said its resolve is based on credible information that Amnesty is fabricating “fictitious allegations of alleged human rights abuses against the Nigerian security forces and clandestine sponsorship of dissident groups to protest.”
The statement equally accused the Non-governmental organization of “unfounded allegations against the leadership of the Nigerian military.
“They have tried over the years using Boko Haram terrorists conflicts, Islamic Movement in Nigeria, some activists and now herders-farmers conflicts,” adding that the group “is at the verge of releasing yet another concocted report against the military, ostensibly against the Nigerian Army.”
The Army urged Nigerians to be wary of Amnesty International (Nigeria), given its goals to destabilise and dismember Nigeria.
In a tweet on its handle, further to the statement, the Nigerian Army lamented that “the Nigerian branch of Amnesty International that has hitherto been well respected has deviated from the core values, principles and objectives of the original Amnesty International domiciled in the United Kingdom.”