By Francesca Hangeior

About 73 non-governmental organisations, NGOs, have jointly lambasted claims that the civil society is part of the reason Boko Haram and other terrorists groups are thriving in the country.

They described it as “stigmatizing, smearing, defaming and targeting the NGO sector which is inconsistent with meaningfully attending to the genuine threats of terrorism in our country.”

“It is unconscionable to malign NGOs that work tirelessly, often at great personal risk, to bring hope and relief to conflict-affected communities.

“These accusations, devoid of proof, serve only to erode public trust, distract from the real issues, and undermine the critical work being done in some of the country’s most challenging environments,” they added.

Recall that retired generals across the three arms of the military, who have been involved in the war against insurgency in Nigeria, especially Boko Haram, have x-rayed the situation and came up with the conclusion that “some non-governmental organisations, NGOs, international agencies and vested interests have helped to sustain terrorism and other violent crimes in the country”.

However, 73 NGOs reacted in a statement entitled “Baseless and Unsubstantiated Allegations Against NGOs on ‘Why Boko Haram, bandits thrive: How NGOs, others aid terrorists — Former generals, commanders’.

In the statement, the NGOs recommended what government should do.

“The Nigerian government and military leadership (should) address the real reasons terrorism persists, including but not limited to rampant poverty and inequality, porous borders, corruption and inefficiency in defence spending.

“The Nigerian security apparatus should focus its efforts and manpower on disrupting terrorist funding and logistics networks rather than scapegoating civil society.

“It must also enhance intelligence gathering and operational capacity to secure lives and properties.

“The government must engage constructively with NGOs to address the root causes of insecurity and alleviate the suffering of affected communities understanding that civil society can meaningfully generate peace and development, including implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and can clearly articulate the sources of grievances identified as factors leading to terrorist and extremist violence,” the NGOs suggested.

‘We are concerned’
The group noted that they “are deeply concerned about the inflammatory claims by an unnamed former Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of the Nigerian Air Force recklessly accusing NGOs in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central regions of providing covert sponsorship and funding to terrorists.

“Rather than confronting the systemic failures that have allowed terrorism to thrive in Nigeria, these claims attempt to shift blame onto the very organisations that have stepped into the void to support communities abandoned by the Nigerian state.

“It is a known fact that a civilian-led approach, engaging civil society and communities, is the most effective way to prevent violent extremism demonstrating the necessity of the role of civil society in channelling discontent and allowing for constructive engagement with states, and in directly undermining the factors leading individuals to be drawn to terrorism and violent extremism.

“One of the most fundamental norms of international humanitarian law is the need to protect the provision of impartial medical care to all wounded and sick persons, including members of adversarial parties and the population under its control.

“This is a norm that must be factored into any counter-terrorism strategy. To abide by these norms is not a sign of weakness, it is an obligation of civilized Nation States.

“The cost of stifling civil society to prevent any perceived threat of terrorism far outweighs its benefits.

“Any effective counter-terrorism strategy needs to strengthen, not weaken, civil society. There is growing evidence that the instrumentalisation of agendas to counter-terrorism and to prevent and counter violent extremism is leading to a lack of trust in State authorities.

“The United Nations Human Rights Committee recognized that the right to life should not be interpreted narrowly, noting that it places not only negative obligations on States (e.g. to not kill), but also positive obligations (e.g. to protect life), to ensure access to the basic conditions necessary to sustain life,” the statement read in part.

The civil society groups said inflammatory statements such as the one attributed to an unnamed former Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of the Nigerian Air Force could lead to attacks on humanitarian actors “further deepening the crisis we are aiming to solve”.

Signatories
The NGOs that signed the statement are:

21st Century Community Empowerment for Youth Initiative
Abuja School of Social and Political Thought
Accountability Lab, Nigeria
Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ)
African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD)
African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
Amnesty International Nigeria
Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP)
BudgIT Foundation
Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity
Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
Centre for Community Empowerment in Conflict and Peacebuilding – Kaduna
Centre for Democratic Research and Training (CRDDERT)
Centre for Global Tolerance and Human Rights
Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
Centre LSD
Centre for Social Centre for Justice Reform
Centre for Transparency Watch
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
CLEEN Foundation
Community Life Project (CLP)
Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR)
Connected Development (CODE)
Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA)
EIE Nigeria
Elixir Trust Foundation
Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability
Environmental Rights Action
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria (ERA)
Falana and Falana’s Chambers
Global Rights
Good Governance Team
Goodluck Jonathan Foundation
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
Hope Behind Bars Africa
Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre)
Human Rights Social Development and Environmental Foundation
INVICTUS AFRICA
Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre
Lawyers Alert
Media Initiative for Transparency in Extractive Industries (MITEI)
Media Rights Agenda
Mothers and Marginalized Advocacy Centre (MAMA Centre)
Nigeria Network of NGOs
Open Society on Justice Reform Project
Order Paper
Organization for Community Civic Engagement (OCCEN)
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
Partners West Africa
Policy Alert
Praxis
Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA)
Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative
Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC)
Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED)
RULAAC – Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre
Say NO Campaign – Nigeria
Say No Campaign
Sesor Empowerment Foundation
Social Action
Socio-Economic Research and Development Centre
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
State of the Union (SOTU)
Tax Justice and Governance Platform
Transition Monitoring Group (TMG)
West Africa Civil Society Forum (WASCSOF)
Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC)
Women in Media Communication Initiative (WIM)
Women in Mining, Nigeria
World Impact Development Foundation
Yiaga Africa
Zero Corruption Coalition (ZCC) 74. Fix Politics