The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed shock at the statement by Amnesty International that the new government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shown indifference to the latest killings in some parts of the country, two weeks after he was sworn in.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party Felix Morka stated this in a statement on Wednesday evening in Abuja in reaction to the AI declaration.
The AI, in its tweeter handle on Wednesday, recalled that gunmen have claimed at least 123 lives since 29 May 2023. When Bola Tinubu took over as president.
Describing the attacks as horrific, the NGO listed that on 11 June 11 in Plateau State, 21 people were killed and 25 people were killed on June 9 in Katako Village, before killing another 13 individuals in Kusherki town on 10 June.
It said between 15-17 May, over 100 people were killed in the Mangu region of Plateau, adding that throughout May 2023, at least 100 people were killed in various communities of Benue State. More people have been killed in other parts of Benue state. In the first week of this month, gunmen killed 37 people in Sokoto state
It accused the Federal Government of failing “to carry out independent, effective, impartial and thorough investigations into these killings — and this is fueling impunity.
“The Nigerian authorities are obliged under international human rights law, regional human rights treaties and Nigeria’s own constitution to protect the human rights of all people without discrimination — and that includes the right to life.
While thanking Amnesty International for drawing attention to the lingering security challenges in Plateau, Kaduna, Benue and Zamfara, Morka described AI’s accusation as hasty and inconsiderate.
The statement recalled President Tinubu in his inaugural statement pledging to accord the topmost priority of his administration, while also promising to reform the nation’s security doctrine and architecture.
The statement said President TInubu promised in categorical terms that Security shall be the top priority of our administration because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence.
The statement reads: “To effectively tackle this menace, we shall reform both our security DOCTRINE and its ARCHITECTURE. We shall invest more in our security personnel, and this means more than an increase in number. We shall provide, better training, equipment, pay and firepower. President Tinubu demonstrated he prioritised security when a few days after he was sworn in, he met with his inherited security chiefs.
“He gave marching orders to them to redouble efforts in dealing with the menace of terrorism, insurgency, banditry, oil theft, sea robbery and piracy among others that have conspired to weigh down the nation.
“President Tinubu decried the persistent security breaches in the country and said he would not allow “It is therefore uncharitable and inconsiderate of Amnesty International through its Acting Nigeria Country Director, Isa Sanusi, to accuse the new government that is just settling down of dereliction of duty.
The APC accused Amnesty International of stoking internal conflict and citizen antagonism in developing nations through weaponisation and accentuation of local situations to achieve its sinister objectives while hypocritically looking the other way when similar incidents occur in developed nations, especially in the Western world.
According to the statement: “Many nations in the world, including the United States of America are today bedevilled by insecurity. By the end of May 2023 almost 20,000 people have died cumulatively as a result of gun violence and other violent crimes in America. In the
“That mass shootings and gun violence have become an epidemic in the US does not make the American government a failure in protecting its people or make mass shootings a ‘norm’ in the country. Every government is daily devising means and ways to tackle rapidly changing security problems.” The spokesperson of the APC said.
Morka also cited the United Kingdom as a country where there is a growing and daily menace of knife crimes, adding that “In 2022 alone, UK police recorded 49,265 offences involving knives and other sharp instruments and 46,334 in 2021. In Nottingham, a mass shooting in the city centre claimed three victims. Amnesty International has not accused the UK government of failing to protect its citizens.
“The isolated cases of shooting that are now several decades old in our country, will need methodical and strategic thinking to ensure normalcy.
“No organisation should gloat over these unfortunate incidents. It’s too early for such an unsympathetic reaction. Amnesty International and its affiliates are advised to give the young government some time to work things out, in consonance with its pledge to our people, rather than rushing out with its jaded diatribe against the Nigerian government and its security authorities.
“President Bola Tinubu and his team are settling down to solving many of our national challenges across various sectors. Amnesty International should allow this government to do its work without their usual condescending hypocrisy,” the statement concluded.
