Amnesty’s support for IPOB, militants suspicious, says Tsav

Former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Alh. Abubakar Tsav, has described Amnesty International (AI)’s alleged support for militants and insurgents as evidence to destabilise the country by the London-based orgnaisation. He advised the federal government to issue a “cease and desist” notice to the rights group.

In a statement yesterday, the former Public Complaints Commissioner in charge of Benue State believes the apparent support for Niger Delta militants, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and even tolerance of Boko Haram were evidence that AI wanted to set the nation apart.

Tsav’s charge followed calls for the non-governmental organisation (NGO) to be banned from the country and treated like a criminal organisation for alleged traces of terrorism-motivated propaganda. His words: “Amnesty International recently launched what it described as its 8-Point Human Rights Agenda for Nigeria in what is the greatest slur and insult to the country from the international non-governmental organisation. Although packaged in the veneer of good intentions, the action by Amnesty International must be viewed in the right context to appreciate the danger it portends.

“A lot has been said about a destabilisation agenda against Nigeria. One of the predicted outcomes of this agenda is the emergence of microstates that could easily be manipulated, controlled and owned by corporations. Amnesty International has been mentioned in different instances as implementing this agenda to break Nigeria up.”

“The organisation’s relationship with the federal government and key national institutions has been that of belligerence, often accusing them of grievous crimes without proof. These faulty reports from Amnesty International have damaging consequences, nonetheless, as seen from the United States’ refusal to approve the sale of military hardware to Nigeria during the (President Barack) Obama era based on a petition from the NGO.

“It is therefore pertinent for the federal government to ask if Amnesty International is already in a new phase of its destabilisation agenda, the phase that entails the NGO testing the waters to see if Nigeria has become weak enough to take instructions from it in the form of a shopping list christened 8-Point Human Rights Agenda for Nigeria.”