IPOB Stockpiled Weapons, Bombs Across Nigeria Says Buhari’s Aide, Garba Shehu

*Tackles Amnesty International

The Presidency has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB) of stockpiling substantial quantity of weapons and bombs
across the country.

The allegation was contained in a statement issued Wednesday in
Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

In a statement titled, “Why Amnesty entreaties should be
ignored”, the Presidency in reaction to Amnesty International”s
recent defence of IPOB activities declared that “Amnesty
International’s latest salvo at Nigeria is but more of the
same.”

It stated emphatically that “IPOB murder Nigerian citizens. They
kill police officers and military personnel and set government
property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of
weapons and bombs across the country.

“Were this group in a western country, you would not expect to
hear Amnesty’s full-throated defence of their actions. Instead,
there would be silence or mealy-mouthed justification of western
governments’ action to check the spread of “terrorism.”

“Despite Amnesty’s self-proclaimed mandate to impartially
transcend borders, unfortunately in Nigeria they play only domestic
politics. The international NGO is being used as cover for the
organisation’s local leaders to pursue their self-interests.
Regrettably, this is not uncommon in Africa”.

The Presidency’s statement read:

“Again, they have decided to side with terrorists, before the
liberty of those they injure, displace and murder.

“Speaking the language of universal human rights, Amnesty
International deploys it only in defence – even outright promotion
– of those that violently oppose the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Parroting the line of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB, a proscribed terror
organisation, they work to legitimise its cause to Western
audiences.

“This puts them in bad company. Controversial American lobbyists
are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to do the same,
laundering IPOB’s reputation in Washington DC.

“IPOB murder Nigerian citizens. They kill police officers and
military personnel and set government property on fire. Now, they
have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across
the country.

“Were this group in a western country, you would not expect to
hear Amnesty’s full-throated defence of their actions. Instead,
there would be silence or mealy-mouthed justification of western
governments’ action to check the spread of “terrorism.”

“Despite Amnesty’s self-proclaimed mandate to impartially
transcend borders, unfortunately in Nigeria they play only domestic
politics. The international NGO is being used as cover for the
organisation’s local leaders to pursue their self-interests.
Regrettably, this is not uncommon in Africa.

“There is nothing wrong with an activist stance; there are
claims of neutrality, when all facts point to the opposite.

“Amnesty International has no legal right to exist in Nigeria.
It must open a formal investigation into the personnel that occupy
their Nigerian offices. They should reject the outrageously
tendentious misinformation they receive and bring some semblance of
due diligence to the sources they base their claims on. Currently,
we see none.

“The Nigerian government will fight terrorism with all the means
at its disposal. We will ignore Amnesty’s rantings. Especially when
it comes from an organisation that does not hold itself to the same
standards it demands of others.”

*Tackles Amnesty International

The Presidency has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra
(IPOB) of stockpiling substantial quantity of weapons and bombs
across the country.

The allegation was contained in a statement issued Wednesday in
Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

In a statement titled, “Why Amnesty entreaties should be
ignored”, the Presidency in reaction to Amnesty International”s
recent defence of IPOB activities declared that “Amnesty
International’s latest salvo at Nigeria is but more of the
same.”

It stated emphatically that “IPOB murder Nigerian citizens. They
kill police officers and military personnel and set government
property on fire. Now, they have amassed a substantial stockpile of
weapons and bombs across the country.

“Were this group in a western country, you would not expect to
hear Amnesty’s full-throated defence of their actions. Instead,
there would be silence or mealy-mouthed justification of western
governments’ action to check the spread of “terrorism.”

“Despite Amnesty’s self-proclaimed mandate to impartially
transcend borders, unfortunately in Nigeria they play only domestic
politics. The international NGO is being used as cover for the
organisation’s local leaders to pursue their self-interests.
Regrettably, this is not uncommon in Africa”.

The Presidency’s statement read:

“Again, they have decided to side with terrorists, before the
liberty of those they injure, displace and murder.

“Speaking the language of universal human rights, Amnesty
International deploys it only in defence – even outright promotion
– of those that violently oppose the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Parroting the line of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB, a proscribed terror
organisation, they work to legitimise its cause to Western
audiences.

“This puts them in bad company. Controversial American lobbyists
are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to do the same,
laundering IPOB’s reputation in Washington DC.

“IPOB murder Nigerian citizens. They kill police officers and
military personnel and set government property on fire. Now, they
have amassed a substantial stockpile of weapons and bombs across
the country.

“Were this group in a western country, you would not expect to
hear Amnesty’s full-throated defence of their actions. Instead,
there would be silence or mealy-mouthed justification of western
governments’ action to check the spread of “terrorism.”

“Despite Amnesty’s self-proclaimed mandate to impartially
transcend borders, unfortunately in Nigeria they play only domestic
politics. The international NGO is being used as cover for the
organisation’s local leaders to pursue their self-interests.
Regrettably, this is not uncommon in Africa.

“There is nothing wrong with an activist stance; there are
claims of neutrality, when all facts point to the opposite.

“Amnesty International has no legal right to exist in Nigeria.
It must open a formal investigation into the personnel that occupy
their Nigerian offices. They should reject the outrageously
tendentious misinformation they receive and bring some semblance of
due diligence to the sources they base their claims on. Currently,
we see none.

“The Nigerian government will fight terrorism with all the means
at its disposal. We will ignore Amnesty’s rantings. Especially when
it comes from an organisation that does not hold itself to the same
standards it demands of others.”