Amnesty International

….as anti-protesters demand rights group to leave Nigeria

….paid protesters rise against their paymasters- Rafsanjani

By Gabriel Ewepu and Jennifer Gideon

FOLLOWING the call by anti-Amnesty International protesters demanding Amnesty International to leave Nigeria, pro-amnesty International protesters, Tuesday,  gave anti-protesters 48 hours to apologise to Nigerians for their action.

The leader of the pro-protesters, Kunle Wizeman Ajayi, said the ultimatum became necessary because the anti-protesters were paid to destroy truth and justice as they have undermined the right of millions of Nigerians who are in support of the activities of Amnesty International in the country because it has been their voice and advocate over the years.

Also read: Sowore: Amnesty Int’l, SERAP, others hold press briefing in Abuja Monday

The anti-protesters had earlier stormed Amnesty International Abuja office demanding them to leave the country.

It would be recalled that protesters in August 2019 stormed the office of AI for same demand to leave the country with placards chanting disparaging songs against the rights group, which they also barricade entrance into the office not allowing staff access to their offices allegedly saying AI has been critical of the Buhari administration.

Ajayi said: “They are completely wrong because they are being sponsored by those who hate justice, hate the truth and want Nigeria to be barbaric.

“We were here to educate the earlier paid protesters who have come to say that saying the truth is wrong. We are here to tell those protesters that the Department of State Service, DSS, and the Federal Government and the same people that paid them to be protesting against the truth will not be there when the consequences of such protests will come.

“What they asking Amnesty International to leave Nigeria is wrong because Nigeria is a land of peace and justice, and if they are asking Amnesty International at this conditional period to leave Nigeria what they are saying is justice should leave Nigeria, the truth should leave Nigeria, which we are opposed to.

“We want those people to go on the streets and tell Nigerians in the market place, and go to everywhere Nigerians are and tell them what they want Amnesty International to leave Nigeria for saying the truth, and they will be beaten blue-black by Nigerians.

“We hereby give the sponsors of those protesters who are not real protesters but hoodlums 48 hours to apologise to Nigerians for saying that the truth should leave Nigeria. Nobody can give the truth, just ultimatum and as far as we are concerned justice and the truth stay. If they do not come out openly we will also make sure that we will be more than swift.”

He further stated that “We are here to tell the whole world that Nigerians are not against the truth, justice, free functional and compulsory education at all levels, health care at all levels. What Nigerians are saying is they want an economy for the millions of Nigerians and not just for millionaires, billionaires and trillionaires.’

They also assure Amnesty International that, “What we are here to do is to assure Amnesty International that millions of Nigerians are with Amnesty International in the pursuance of truth, fight against injustice, mass good security of Nigerians, self-security, anti-democracy and others, and that is why we are here massively.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Amnesty International, Auwal Ibrahim Rafsanjani, reacted to the renewed call for AI to leave the country by the anti-protesters.

He said: “It is a really unfortunate and sad development and It is a sad development. They are being used to fight a group that is fighting for their course. It is very clear that this thing has been happening for you to gather that number of people, definitely, they stolen money to hire them and this is people who are suffering from poverty, suffering, unemployment, lack of decency of life, orchestrated by the state because the state deprived them decency of life, and are now using them.

“Tomorrow, I can assure that these people will get to know that they are being misused and that they are being utilized by the state so they will go after the state.

“This is a temporary thing. It is to assure you that it is a sign that Amnesty International is working for the people. Their sponsors are anti-people and are people who have no business with Nigeria people.

“Why is it that they only pay them and hire them, to protest, they will not pay them don’t offer them a job, they should give them a job. They have no job any guide. They are living this kind of miserable life. So they are victims of the state and state officials who are siphoning taxpayers’ money to come and pay for demonstration.”

Vanguard