New findings have revealed that the Human Rights group, Amnesty International and some foreign Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) 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 finding revealed further.
The report also stated that their aim was to prevent some western countries from selling arms to Nigeria in prosecuting the Boko Haram war effectively.
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,” it said.
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.
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.
There have been calls for the expulsion of Amnesty International from Nigeria for acts that promote the activities of Boko Haram terrorists and other militant groups in Nigeria.
