By Femi Ogunshola
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has berated the Amnesty International (AI) over its call for the arrest and prosecution of former Service Chiefs.
AI had in its recent report, called for the arrest and prosecution of the service chiefs at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged human rights violation in the prosecution of war against terror in the North-East region.
Speaking on “Politics Nationwide,” a Radio Nigeria programme monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja, Mohammed said the global human rights protection organisation should “shut up because it had no proof of crimes committed by the Nigerian military’’.
He said the country was fighting an unconventional war with insurgency that had no rule of engagement, adding that this was a double jeopardy for the military which had been applying the rule of engagement.
“Those who are asking our solders to be invited to the ICC are very unpatriotic, its a pure hypocrisy and double standard, especially on the path of AI.
“AI have different laws for different countries, so they should shut up if they have no proof of any crime committed by our solders,” the minister said.
He recalled the stand of AI during the EndSARS protests when it asked the Federal Government not to arrest and prosecute hoodlums who killed police men and burnt down police stations.
“When the Federal Government wanted to arrest hoodlums who killed 37 policemen, six solders, destroyed properties, burn down police stations, AI said they are innocent people.
“In the U.S., some mobs went to Capitol Hill to protest the election that brought President Joe Biden, America said it was an insurrection but AI never deemed it fit to say anything,” he said.
He said the AI had shown that it had different laws for Nigeria and another for the U.S.
The minister also said that the recent rating by Transparency International ranking Nigeria as the second most corrupt in Africa was not a true reflection of the Federal Government on its fight against corruption
He said that the Federal Government was still studying the reports, adding that the government anti-corruption fight was on course.
The minister described the ranking as “inappropriate’’, stressing that it was not a true reflection of the efforts of the government at stamping out corruption in the country.