Nigerian Military: UNICEF, Amnesty International Working with Boko Haram

The Nigerian military launched a war against the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Amnesty International this week for allegedly working with Boko Haram and undermining the soldiers in Nigeria.

On Monday, the Nigerian armed forces called for the closure of Amnesty’s office in the African country, citing a report by the human rights organization critical of how the military handled the escalating conflict between predominantly Christian farmers and Muslim herders that has left at least 3,641 deaths in the past three years and displaced of thousands of others.

Referring to Amnesty, Garba Shehu, a spokesman for the Nigerian presidency, reportedly said in a statement, “The organization’s operations in Nigeria seem geared towards damaging the morale of the Nigerian military. It often appears as if the Nigerian government is fighting two wars on terror: against Boko Haram and against Amnesty International.”

“On Friday (Dec. 14), the military banned operations by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria’s volatile northeast claiming the agency spied for Boko Haram terrorists operating in the region. The army claimed UNICEF staff were sabotaging its counter-terrorism efforts by alleging human rights abuses by the military,” Quartz explained.

In a statement carried by Reuters, the Nigerian military claimed UNICEF staff “train and deploy spies who support the insurgents and their sympathizers.”

These were “unwholesome practices that could further jeopardize the fight against terrorism and insurgency,” the African armed forces said, adding that it was suspending UNICEF’s operations in the northeast until further notice. However, “In a swift turnaround just a few hours later—reportedly due to high-level diplomatic talks involving the UN and the United States—the army lifted its ban on the agency,” Quartz noted.

Now, less than a week after accusing UNICEF of being linked to Boko Haram, the military alleges that Amnesty International is trying to “destabilize” and “dismember” Nigeria.

“The Nigerian Army has called for the closure of the Amnesty International offices in Nigeria, alleging there is credible evidence the organization is working hard to destabilize the country. This comes three days after the army accused UNICEF of aiding terrorism in the North-east,” Premium Times noted.

Sani Usman, a spokesman for the Nigerian military, reportedly linked the army’s grouse to a new Amnesty International report, which claims the African country’s security forces ”did nothing to stop or prevent” violent clashes in the country’s middle belt region between predominantly Christian farmers and Muslim Fulani herdsmen despite receiving tips to alert them. 

Echoing other assessments, Quartz described the farmer-herdsmen violence as Nigeria’s biggest internal security threat.

According to the Amnesty report, farmer-herdsmen clashes claimed 3,641 lives between January 2016 and October 2018.

In the report, Amnesty also accuses the Nigerian military of human rights violations in the area affected by the violence.

The military spokesman reportedly dismissed Amnesty’s allegations as ‘“fictitious,” adding:

They have tried over the years using Boko Haram terrorists’ conflicts, Islamic Movement in Nigeria, some activists and now herders-farmers conflicts. The NGO is at the verge of releasing yet another concocted report against the military, ostensibly against the Nigerian Army. Consequently, Nigerians should be wary of Amnesty International (Nigeria) because its goals are to destabilize Nigeria and to dismember it. The Nigerian Army has no option than to call for the closure of Amnesty International offices in Nigeria, if such recklessness continues.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, who shares his ethnicity with Fulani herdsmen, has been accused of not doing enough to protect farmers.

Referring to the farmers-herdsmen conflict, Osai Ojigho, the director of Amnesty International Nigeria, reportedly proclaimed:

The Nigerian government has displayed what can only be described as gross incompetence and has failed in its duty to protect the lives of its population and end the intensifying conflict between herders and farmers. The authorities’ lethargy has allowed impunity to flourish and the killings to spread to many parts of the country, inflicting greater suffering on communities who already live in constant fear of the next attack.

Amnesty International has called out the Nigerian military for human rights violations in the past.

“The group has previously claimed Nigeria’s military has arbitrarily detained and killed civilians in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists and has called for senior military officials to be investigated for war crimes,” Quartz acknowledged.

Although the Buhari administration has repeatedly claimed to have defeated Boko Haram, the group continues wreaking havoc and waging its terrorist campaign that has left about 30,000 people dead and displaced millions of others.