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Nigeria criticizes Amnesty International for making "spurious claims against military"

Xinhua, February 28, 2017 Adjust font size:

Nigerian authorities on Monday excoriated Amnesty International (AI) for making spurious claims against the country's military and accused the global organization of "fanning the ember of disunity, hate, and destabilization" within its territory.

A statement signed by defense spokesman Rabe Abubakar said the activities of Amnesty International showed that the organization never meant well for the west African country.

"This could be corroborated by inherent lopsidedness in the AI 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 statement said.

Last week, Nigeria's Defense Headquarters described a recent report by the Amnesty International, alleging death of 240 people including babies in Borno and 177 pro-Biafran agitators, as untrue.

The government said the report was aimed at tarnishing the good image of the Nigerian military.

It added, "it is disturbing and unethical of an international organization that is supposed to steer clear of local politics and to be seen as maintaining neutrality in its reportage of the countries it operates." Endit