From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has called on Amnesty ...
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of
Law (Intersociety) has called on Amnesty International(AI), United Kingdom (UK)
for the suspension and closure of the Nigerian Section of Amnesty International
pending when it is sanitised and reorganised.
The group stated that the West/East African Regional Office
of Amnesty International located in Dakar, Senegal should take over the affairs
of the Nigerian Section with a non-Nigerian Rights campaigner recruited as
“Newl Researcher on Nigeria” to ensure non-discrimination and professionalism.
The Intersociety in two Advocacy-Letters delivered to Dr
Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, UK and Ms Tirana
Hassan, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, USA signed its Board Chairman
Emeka Umeagbalasi expressed deep concerns over the goings-on in the Nigerian
Section AI, especially since 2017.
The group also said apart from strongly suspected Nigerian
State infiltration and interference, there are also strong allegations against
the Nigerian-born handlers of the Nigerian Section bordering on partisanship,
ethnic and religious biases and discrimination in matters of advocacy areas
which have brutally excluded and shut out South-East, South-South and
Middle-Belt, Nigeria’s hotbed of a state actor and non-state actor gross human
rights abuses or violations from Amnesty International’s advocacy areas,
activities and victims and activists’ advocacy benefits since 2016.
” It must be remembered that 24th Nov 2016 was the last time
the Old Eastern Nigeria particularly the South-East was majorly represented in
the AI’s scheme of advocacy works. This followed the release of AI’s globally
celebrated Special Report: “At Least 150 Unarmed Pro Biafra Protesters Killed
By Security Forces In South-East Nigeria”.
“Intersociety also made far-reaching demands and proposals
as a way forward and specifically requested for leadership overhaul at
Nigeria’s section of Amnesty International (AI-N) and recruitment of a new
Researcher for HRW on Nigeria who must be non-Nigerian and unbiased in order to
purge the HRW advocacy activities in the country of entrenched ethnic and
religious biases and hatred and ensure non-discrimination and professionalism
in the distribution of its advocacy activities in Nigeria or any part thereof.
“Strong accusations are pointing in the direction of the top
leadership of the Nigerian section of the organisation to the effect that “a
number of its present leaders are card-carrying members of the central ruling
Party and political appointees of some sitting Governors in Northern Nigeria”.
This, we seriously frown at and consider as a height of partisanship”.
“The exhibition of
ethnic and religious biases and hatred in Nigeria’s Amnesty International, as
well as the suspected state infiltration and interference and discriminatory or
selective advocacy activities, have become deeply entrenched that Nigeria’s AI
career staffers and other stakeholders from Old Eastern Nigeria and the Old
Middle-Belt including Southern Kaduna who protested or tried to effect such
anti-East and Middle-Belt advocacy embargo were threatened, sabotaged, framed
and forced out in Nigeria. We had also in our Advocacy Letter reminded Dr Agnes
Callamard, AI’s Sec-Gen that the Nigerian Section of the organisation was once
suspended and closed down by its International Secretariat around the late 90s
or early 2000s for compromising the core Mandate of the global organisation
including being mired in political partisanship, politicisation and
compromises.
“The attention of Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Ms
Tirana Hassan was drawn to drastic declines in the advocacy activities and
denial of the HRW advocacy benefits to victims and potential victims of gross
human rights abuses and violations including state-actor and non-state actor
terrorism in Old Eastern and Middle-Belt Regions particularly since 2015; which
have been checked and traced to the appointment in 2013 of Ms Mausi Segun as
‘Researcher on Nigeria’ and later in 2017 as ‘HRW’s Director for African
Division’.
“It was also under her watch that another Nigerian, Ms Anietie
Ewang was appointed to replace her as ‘Researcher on Nigeria’. Ms Mausi Segun
was picked from the integrity-challenged Nigerian Government-owned National
Human Rights Commission where she was a career staff. A cursory look at the
advocacy activities of the HRW in Nigeria since 2013-2015 clearly showed that
ethnic and religious biases have been responsible for the near-total absence of
the advocacy works and benefits of the HRW in Old Eastern and Middle-Belt
Regions of Nigeria comprising South-East, South-South and North-Central
including Southern Kaduna.
“Intersociety also in its two Advocacy-Letters urged Amnesty
International, UK and Human Rights Watch, USA to internationally campaign for
conduct-atrocity justice accountability and end of impunity in Nigeria or any
part thereof and use their global contacts, connections and influences to push
for UN/AU Criminal Enquiries and Special Criminal Tribunal for Nigeria to look
into more than 90,000 politico-religious deaths since 2009 or in a period of
past fourteen years; including over 53,000 Christian death tolls and over
35,000 moderate Muslim death figures.
“This is in order to track the horrendous crimes of
international concerns perpetrated and their perpetrators and victims in
Nigeria or any part thereof. Intersociety cited recent international cases in
point to include the creation of the AU Special Criminal Court in Senegal that
tried and sentenced to life imprisonment former Chadian President, Hissene
Habre in May 2016 during which AI and HRW played leading roles.
“Therefore, such UN/AU Special Criminal Enquiries/Criminal
Tribunal are urgently needed in Nigeria to look into the country’s grisly and
egregious rights abuses or violations since July 2009, track down and hold
their perpetrators accountable.
“While urging Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
to fully return their advocacy activities and benefits to Nigeria without
discrimination as to ethnicity, religion, gender, class, age, occupation,
identity and geographical locations of the victims and potential victims and
their properties; Intersociety also called on them to end their age-long
advocacy discriminatory practices against Nigeria’s Old Eastern and Middle-Belt
Regions-Nigeria’s hotbed of gross rights abuses or violations,” Umeagbalasi
stated.
No comments