Gbeleyi Abayomi
Amnesty international Nigeria has replied the federal govt saying it will not be silent and will continue to raise its voice against injustice and human right violations by the Nigerian government.
This was in reaction to protests by some groups alleged to have been sponsored by the govt. The organization said sponsored protests would not deter it from its mandate in holding the government accountable in respecting and protecting human rights.
In a statement on Friday in Abuja, Amnesty Nigeria Media Manager, Isa Sanusi, said the rights group had been placed on the watch list by the Nigerian government.
Amnesty International was reportedly placed under security surveillance according to PUNCH newspaper’s sources for retweeting the #RevolutionNow hashtag which has been trending since some concerned Nigerians announced plans to stage a protest tagged ‘Days of Rage’ to hold August 5, 2019, nationwide.
The statement reads: “Amnesty International is a human rights organization and not affiliated with any interests, political, religious or commercial.
“We have been working on Nigeria since 1967 – our role is to hold governments accountable in order to respect and protect human rights, and to ensure that anyone whose rights are violated has an effective remedy.”
The group therefore has called on the Nigerian government to channel its resources on investigating allegations of human rights abuses and violations in the country.
The group said, “For this reason, the organization continues to call on the Nigerian government to use its authority and resources to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including rape, torture, arbitrary detentions and unlawful killings, to ensure reparation for the victims, to hold the perpetrators accountable, and to ensure non-repetition of the violations.
“Despite sponsored protests, we will not stay silent. In the face of efforts to evade responsibility or to smear our organization, we will continue to raise our voices whenever and wherever we see injustice, sexual abuse, discrimination against women, or any other violations of human rights in Nigeria.”
In a related development, some sections of the Nigerian public have condemned the tweet by amnesty international where it supported revolution.
They said the organization is supporting anarchy which is shocking and thy should desist forthwith.
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