“This call by Amnesty International, Nigeria, consciously seeking the overthrow of a democratically elected government is nothing short of treason against the Nigerian nation. This is grave and a definite breach of international conventions, we, therefore, demand that the Amnesty International Office in Nigeria be shut down.
The BMO added that: “An attack on the sovereignty of Nigeria, the democracy of the country and its institutions is one that would not be taken lightly. This is an affront and it speaks volumes of the intentions of Amnesty International, Nigeria’s mandate in Nigeria. The Organisation has more or less turned itself into an opposition party in this country.
“They have sponsored opposition elements to conduct protests, they have promoted fake news and cooked-up allegations against the Nigerian government and its institutions, now they have categorically called for a revolution against the Nigerian state. This is what we have seen done by the opposition; if Amnesty International wants to take on the Nigerian government in this way, they must know that they cannot do so from the standpoint of a pretentious human rights protection group, rather, they should close down their office in Nigeria and register duly with INEC as a political party.”
The group noted that this was not the first time that Amnesty International was making attempts to subvert Nigeria’s sovereignty and was being called out for doing so.
“On 17th December, 2018, one of Nigeria’s most revered institutions, and one tasked with maintaining and enforcing the sovereignty of the Nigerian state, the Nigerian Army, accused this same Amnesty International, Nigeria of deviating from its core values, principles and objectives of the original Amnesty International domiciled in the United Kingdom.
“The Nigerian Army had stated then that they had credible information that the Amnesty International Nigeria office had intentions of destabilising the Nigerian nation.”
The group noted that it was not surprised at those allegations by the Nigerian Army against Amnesty International’s Nigeria office, neither is it surprised that the organisation is now calling for a revolution in Nigeria, as they had been showing these patterns since the coming of the President Buhari administration.
For BMO, Amnesty International, Nigeria, is determined to function way beyond its official standing and therefore questioned the basis of its conduct in the Nigerian jurisdiction:
“Is a group that professed to be promoting human rights and democracy supposed to be at the forefront of the call for a revolution and overthrow of a democratically elected government?
“Is Amnesty International Nigeria now a partisan group? Are they now affiliated to the opposition party of Nigeria? Is this how they promote democracy?
“Amnesty International Nigeria has hit bottom low with this attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty. They must leave Nigeria now!”