Amnesty vows not to be silent, raises alarm over threat to staff in Nigeria

•Says accountability for human rights violations remains elusive

HUMAN rights group, Amnesty International has said it will not back down in its fight against injustice despite threats to its staff in Nigeria.

The international rights organisation made this known yesterday in a statement on its Twitter handle @AmnestyNigeria.

“Amnesty International draws the attention of the Nigerian authorities and the general public to the intimidation and outright threats of attacks that were issued against its staff, supporters, and premises by a faceless and unknown group at a press conference held on 4 November 2020.

“Similar faceless groups had previously invaded our office and given us ultimatum to leave Nigeria. Amnesty International is a global human rights movement and we are independent of any government. We will not stay silent. In the face of efforts to evade responsibility or to smear our organisation, we will continue to raise our voices whenever and wherever we see injustice,” the statement read.

While saying it is not affiliated to any government, ideology, or interest, and have been working in Nigeria since June 1967, the organisation said “the Nigerian authorities owe a legal duty to ensure the protection of lives and properties what every person in the country. Malicious threats will not deter us from continuing to speak against human rights violation and abuses by state and non-state actors.

“We will continue to call on the Nigerian government to use its authority and resources to investigate all allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including; rape, torture, arbitrary detentions and unlawful killings. #EndSARS #LekkiTollGateShooting,” the statement also read.