APC condemns Amnesty International for purported President Tinubu’s dereliction of duty

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has condemned a human rights body, Amnesty International Nigeria, on President Tinubu’s allegation of wilful neglect of duty over the rise of insecurity challenges in some parts of the country, particularly Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and Zamfara states.

Felix Morka, the party’s publicity secretary, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

According to the statement, the party mentioned that Amnesty’s claim two weeks after the inauguration of the president is grossly inconsiderate and unacceptable. It re-emphasized the administration’s commitment to peace and harmony and stressed that the body should have allowed him (Mr President) to work things out before concluding hastily.

“President Tinubu is alive to his responsibility,” the statement reads.

It continues, “During his inaugural speech, President Bola Tinubu said clearly that security would be the topmost priority of his administration and he promised to reform the nation’s security doctrine and architecture.

“He promised in categorical terms that security would be the top priority of our administration because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence. To effectively tackle this menace, we will 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 few days after he was sworn in, he met with his inherited security chiefs.”

APC, therefore, enjoins Amnesty International and its affiliates to give the young government some time to work things out, in consonance with its pledge to Nigerians, rather than rushing out with its jaded diatribe against the government and its security authorities.

“President Bola Tinubu and his team are settling down to solve many of our national challenges across various sectors. Amnesty International should allow this government  to do its work without their usual condescending hypocrisy,” it added.

APC mentioned that the lingering insecurity threats have existed for over a decade in the country and are, moreover, a common challenge in the developed world. So, “No organization should gloat over these unfortunate incidents. It’s too early for such an unsympathetic reaction.” It thereby warned Amnesty International and its affiliates not to use the unfortunate global occurrence to incite citizens and propagate their antagonistic agenda.

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“Amnesty International is known for stoking internal conflict and citizen antagonism in developing nations through weaponization 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.

“Many nations in the world, including the United States of America, are today bedeviled by insecurity. By the end of May 2023 almost 20,000 people will have died cumulatively as a result of gun violence and other violent crimes in America. In the first 150 days of 2023, America has recorded 263 mass shootings, with hundreds of death yet Amnesty International has not been on the mountain top to accuse US government of dereliction of duty. That mass shooting and gun violence have become an epidemic in 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.

“In the United Kingdom, there is a growing and daily menace of knife crimes. In 2022 alone, UK police recorded 49,265 offenses 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 failure to protect its citizens.”