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Amnesty International Goofed!
The statement credited to Amnesty International (AI) on the 10th of June, 2024, on the alleged treatment meted to Nigerian girls who had escaped from Boko Haram and the ones captured by the Nigerian Armed Forces to safety in order to reintegrated them to their communities is false, unethical, unprofessional, worrisome and cannot stand the test of time.
Infact, the aspersions cast by AI on these efforts by the Nigerian military with the recent report accusing the Nigerian military of illegally detaining the girls and young women who had escaped from Boko Haram captivity because the military believes they supported the Islamist insurgent group should be trashed as lies from the pit of hell orchestrated by AI to smear the hard-earned reputation of the Nigerian Armed Forces once more in their usual tradition.
The AI report as captioned ‘Help us build our lives’ stated that the Nigerian government has failed to uphold their human rights obligations to protect and adequately support these girls and young women. It accused the Nigerian military of detaining and abusing female survivors of Boko Haram in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without access to medical care or legal representation.
The report also highlighted the abuses and violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by Boko Haram and the Nigeria authorities. It highlighted the unique experiences of girls and young women who were forced to marry, subjected to sexual violence and domestic servitude.
After critically examining the contents of the Report by AI and its antecedence over the decades against the Nigerian state and military, the Guild of Civil Societies and Media Executives for Equity, Justice and Transparency in Nigeria (GOCMEJ) is compelled to issue the following statement.
That since the present leadership took over the mantle of the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) headed by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Christopher Musa, the military image has blossomed on a positive trajectory, a narrative both local and internationally due to their stomping all over the country, the new sense of urgency, direction, patriotism, transparency, rules of engagement that was brought into the fight by the new leadership. The enormous improvement in military accoutrements such as equipment, gadgets, ICT infrastructure, fire power and the overall capabilities, the exotic names given to military operations/exercises all over the country, the string of successes recorded by various military formations and commands culminating in the recapture of the Boko Haram elements, bandits leaders and criminal elements has diminished their fighting ability and power all helped to turn around the image of the Nigeria military across the globe.
Since 2023, Nigerians and indeed the international community have given a pat on the back to the Nigeria’s military for their national sacrifice to keep the country in unity and peace in spite of the daunting challenges faced not only at the war front but in also reducing criminality across the length and breadth of the country.
However, one major factor that has held the Nigerian military force down in spite of their enormous efforts to defend her territorial integrity and safe guard the lives and property of Nigerians is the negative narrative of the amnesty international that have pervaded Africa since the last decade of which Nigeria is not an exception due to its negative framing and consistent bias reportage. Unfortunately, AI has failed to acknowledge in its report the on-going fair trial and conviction of culpable members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and the release of those not found guilty. The number of persons released, re-oriented, de-radicalized and re-integrated with the larger community which is running into millions to date and they are accommodated in a place relatively safer with enough space while providing the detainees with social amenities and three square meals daily has also been left out of the report.
The AI report on the 10th of June, 2024, according to fact finding mission and pool conducted by Nigerians is a systematic campaign of calumny against the Nigerian military and a calculated narrative that have kept even the best of cynics astounded including the international community. “This could be corroborated by inherent lopsidedness in AI’s portrayal of Nigeria, its involvement in local politics and taking side with terrorists and other belligerent groups, to cause internal disorder, which no country can tolerate. The Guild therefore reiterates that the military in this new dispensation has maintained an open-door policy and has been cooperating with all stakeholders in ensuring that the Nigerian armed forces remain one of the best and a proud institution for all Nigerians”. For AI to be making spurious allegations, especially without been substantiated and cogent reasons given, apart from those adduced by the AI itself for the reason best known to it and its collaborators is disturbing and unethical of an international organization that is supposed to stay clear of local politics and to be seen as maintaining neutrality in its reportage of the countries it operates.
Emphasizing that “incessant negative report on Nigeria in general and the armed forces in particular by AI in condemnable by all well-meaning Nigerians who have seen and appreciate what the military and other security agencies have done to decimate Boko Haram terrorists and contain other criminal elements.
“As much as the military welcomes comments, criticism and observation that could help the institution to grow higher for the interest of our nation, the activities of the AI to say the least, is far from being noble, AI has negative mission in Nigeria”, the Guild asserted.
The military has operated within the strict guidance of the rules of engagement and the code of conduct for troops, according to the GOCMEJ, what needs to be clear is that we have observed a consistent attack pattern on the institutions charged with the mandate to protect the nation against every form of insecurity. The AI has consistently with other agents worked against our nationhood, tried fruitlessly to incite the populace against the military through various malicious publications in the past and “In spite of their distractions, Nigeria has forged ahead and decimated Boko Haram and the military has worked assiduously to improve on its civil-military relations, the result of which is manifest in the unparalleled support, accolades and encouragement received from Nigerians today”. It is appalling that “this position seems to have disappointed AI and their allies, adding that, it is sad that when our national security institutions are gaining traction, these agents after fabricating their reports, sits back and push Nigerians to make the reports known to the public to give it a national colour of some sort”. It is very despicable indeed.
Nigerians must rise up and stand against this subtle and increasing national framing and reportage, for we all have a role to play in this direction. “Our national Institutions must be strengthened, it is our responsibility to do so, no one can love Nigeria better than Nigerians, we only ask the media, to shine their eyes”.
Consequently, after our investigations, we found that the Defence Headquarters have made concerted efforts for years to reach out to AI but all to no avail. The deliberate falsehood peddled by AI could cast the nation and its security apparatus in bad light. The frequent accusations and counter accusation of the military by the human rights body, is becoming appalling and worrisome and Nigerians are beginning to think that AI has an axe to grind or has clandestine plots against the military class. Amnesty International does at mean well for Nigeria going by their previous antecedents and reputation of denigrating the armed forces anytime they make gain against the forces of evil to incite the Nigerian public and international community against the military.
The Guild is emphatic and reiterates for the upteempt time, that the Nigerian people looks at the AI as an organization established to embark on an orchestrated campaign of calumny against the Nigeria military and undermine the laudable achievements against insurgents which have formed the narratives over time, that have happened over the years. Nevertheless, looking at some of the critical allegations of AI on most of the nationalistic operations carried-out by the military, it seems that the AI are not interested in a united and indivisible nation like ours, but are out to denigrate the institution of the military and stop the funding by the western nations knowing full well that the same report from AI had stopped the funding during the Obama’s era.
Nigeria has suffered greatly over the decade based on AI reports on human rights violations and others including the initial refusal of America and its allies to sell critical military weapons to the country to fight the insurgency few years ago. As the AI has advertised itself more as aligning into the agenda of non-state actors, than the interest in protecting the dignity, rights and the rule of law, of law-abiding citizens in a country that has accorded them so much hospitality and respect.
Analysts, pundits and discerning Nigerians posit that protecting the human rights of Nigerians has been the signpost of the Nigerian military in all its operations. The brash and crude force applied by the military soldiers in internal assignments have been replaced with amiable, friendliness with host communities which has brought to the fore the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the military to its host communities in critical areas of needs and operations. The Nigerian military have followed international best practices and rules of engagement during war as the military is determined at sustaining its constitutional mandate of defending the territorial integrity of the nation, as well as, commitment to aid the civil authority to bring about peace and security of the country. Therefore, the 10th June, 2024, report of AI should be disparaged, condemned, discountenanced and dismissed by well-meaning Nigerians as’ lies from the pit of hell’ and a propaganda tool to frame reportage against our national institution.
We therefore call on the military hierarchy not to be distracted by the AI’s report but to remain steadfast and focused on its constitutional assigned mandate and the Guild therefore, overwhelmingly, Pass a Vote of Confidence on the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF),for it’s repositioning and rebranding efforts in making the Nigerian Armed Forces 21st century compliant.
The Guild further maintained that the several commentaries against the Nigerian military are unnecessary, distractive, unfair and doesn’t represent the true disclosure on re-orientation, de-radicalization and re-integration of Boko Haram inmates and estranged wives/captives. The amnesty report smacks of bias and is capable of undermining the results from the hard-fought war by the military against insurgents, demoralizing the Nigerian Armed Forces personnel in the performance of their constitutional mandate.
Signed.
Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele
President,
Guild of Civil Societies and Media Executives for Equity, Justice and Transparency in Nigeria (GOCMEJ)
There has been little appetite historically among the College of Cardinals for the idea of a pope from the United States, a global superpower. But this conclave could be different.
Two possible papal contenders from the United States are receiving consideration, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, New Jersey.
At 72, Tobin’s ecclesial resume is a full one — built predominantly outside of the United States, which might ease concerns by those wary of an Americentric papacy.
Born in Detroit, the oldest of 13 children, Tobin joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, better known as the Redemptorists, and was ordained a priest in 1978.
The Redemptorists often describe themselves as “kitchen priests,” meant to convey their willingness to get their hands dirty and not shy away from messy situations, be it in geopolitics or personal lives. Tobin, who had worked for a while as a car mechanic, seemed a natural fit for the order.
After pastoral stints in Detroit and Chicago, Tobin quickly ascended the ranks within the Redemptorists, where he eventually elected for two six-year terms as the order’s superior general, from 1997 to 2009.
Although based in Rome, his missionary work as the head of the worldwide Redemptorists order took him to more than 70 countries around the globe to assess firsthand the situation of the then-5,000-plus member order. These travels — combined with his later Vatican service — means he remains a known quantity to many priests and bishops, especially in the developing world. Moreover, he’s a gifted linguist, speaking (in addition to English) Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
In 2005, he participated in the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops on the theme of the Eucharist, where he met Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tobin would later recall that he told the future Pope Francis that his mother was disappointed that Bergoglio was not elected pope in the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. Bergoglio was reported to have been the runner-up at the time.
In 2010, Benedict appointed Tobin as the No. 2 at the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, an office responsible for overseeing the roughly 2,500 religious orders, congregations and institutes around the world.
Tobin’s tenure in the department, however, was unusually brief, as he challenged the office’s treatment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group representing more than 300 religious women congregations in the United States.
Tobin’s office conducted an official “visitation” — an investigation — into the sisters group as part of the Vatican doctrinal office’s crackdown on its theological orthodoxy. In the process, Tobin became known as a vocal defender of the religious sisters and lamented their treatment by the Vatican.
“He tried to help the Vatican understand the experience of U.S. women religious,” said one sister involved in the process, who spoke to NCR on the condition of anonymity. “It was risky to do this as the new kid on the block and he paid a high price.”
His willingness to buck the system made him a hero of women religious, but put him on the outs inside the Vatican. In October 2012, Benedict exiled him back to the United States to become the archbishop of Indianapolis.
His ecclesial career may have ended there if it were not for the shock resignation of Benedict just six months later and the papal election of Tobin’s old acquaintance from the 2005 synod.
In October 2016, Francis announced that he was elevating Tobin to the College of Cardinals, marking the first time in its history that the small archdiocese of Indianapolis would have a cardinal.
Shortly thereafter, in November 2016, it was announced that Tobin would be transferred to Newark, New Jersey, again marking a first for a city that is a non-traditional cardinalatial see.
In the years that have followed, Tobin has become a leading voice in favor of Francis in a deeply divided U.S. hierarchy, many of whom are considered to be out of sync with the pope’s pastoral agenda.
His affable style and easy humor has won goodwill among the majority of his brother bishops, including those who are not considered to be ideological allies. Still, that wasn’t enough to win a crucial 2022 vote for secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference; Tobin lost the bid for the No. 3 position in the conference to a much more conservative candidate.
Here In Rome, Tobin is almost a monthly visitor in his capacity as a member of three Vatican offices:
The Dicastery for Bishops, a body responsible for advising the pope on bishop appointments;
The Secretariat for the Economy;
The General Secretariat for the Synod.
All three are considered to be some of the Vatican’s most high-profile departments, meaning he knows how the institution works (and doesn’t).
When in town on Vatican business, he prefers not to lodge inside the Vatican’s hotel for visiting clergy, where Francis also lived, nor at the North American College, the residence of U.S. seminarians studying in Rome where many visiting American bishops stay. Instead, Tobin chooses to stay across town at his old home at the Redemptorists’ headquarters, where he is known to take the metro or bus to get around town.
If members of the College of Cardinals are looking for a candidate who shares Francis’ pastoral instincts that prioritize mercy, Tobin might be appealing. He shares Francis’ approach to championing of migrants; a more welcoming approach to divorced, remarried and LGBT Catholics; and a preference for a more synodal, listening church.
If members of the College of Cardinals are looking for a candidate who shares Francis’ pastoral instincts that prioritize mercy, Tobin might be appealing.
As archbishop in Indiana, Tobin defied then-Gov. Mike Pence. The future vice president in the first Trump administration, Pence blocked government assistance for the resettlement of Syrian refugees and asked that Tobin not house a family in his diocese. Tobin refused Pence’s request.
In New Jersey, Tobin also welcomed an LGBTQ pilgrimage to his Newark cathedral.
In a 2021 Commonweal column, he declared synodality to be antidote to racism, misogyny, clericalism, sexual abuse and other ills that have long plagued the church.
Cardinal electors also might be attracted to his own personal story of being exiled from the Vatican — a history that shares parallels with the ecclesial journeys of Popes Paul VI and Francis — as a sign that he might not govern with an Iron hand.
However, Tobin might not be the choice if they are looking for a candidate who might reclaim some of Benedict’s vision for a church marked by its purity and as a sign of contradiction to the world around it. They may be put off by Tobin’s openness about his past alcoholism and subsequent recovery, having been sober for more than three decades.
Similarly, they might be keen to distance themselves from the scandal of the late ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a predecessor of Tobin’s as archbishop of Newark, whose serial abuse and cover-up left the archdiocese with hundreds of abuse-related lawsuits. Over the years, some conservative critics have falsely suggested McCarrick was a promoter of Tobin, although the Vatican’s own investigation into McCarrick’s history reveals there was no connection between the two men.
As the cardinals enter into the Sistine Chapel, if they are looking for a man deeply aligned with Francis and an experience of the global church from both the inside of the institution and its peripheries, Tobin may well end up on more than a few cardinals’ short lists. But a kitchen priest — especially one from the United States — becoming pope could also remain a bridge too far.
This is part of a series on the leading candidates in the 2025 papal election. The National Catholic Reporter’s Rome Bureau is made possible in part by the generosity of Joan and Bob McGrath.
(National Catholic Reporter)
Honourable Paul Sunday Nnamchi, representing Enugu East/Isi Uzo Federal Constituency in the 10th House of Representatives, has fulfilled his promise to illuminate communities in Isi Uzo Local Government Area.
The lawmaker has just begun the deployment of high-density solar-powered street lights in Ikem Nkwo, marking the beginning of a massive rollout of the street lamps across the communities in Isi Uzo.
This initiative, which started in Enugu East Local Government Area in 2024, aims to support the fight against insecurity in the state which according to him was to add to what Chief Security Officer of Enugu State Barrister Peter Mba had done to secure the state to attracts foreign investments.
The lawmaker expressed concern over banditry attacks, particularly by herdsmen, in some communities within Isi Uzo and Enugu East Local Government Areas in the recent pasts.
He believes that illuminating these areas with high-density street lights would help address the insecurity adding that he was prioritizing border and farming communities in Isi Uzo, where banditry has displaced residents and restricted farming activities.
Communities in Ikem, Eha-Amufu in Isi Uzo which borders Enugu and Benue State and Ugwogo-Nike in Enugu East have been vulnerable to these attacks due to their strategic locations.
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