AmAmnesty International has come under heavy criticism from the Northern Ethnic Youths Group Assembly, NEYGA, for taking a position which the group said supports fake news to destabilize Nigeria.
Credible News recalls that Friday, a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja, remanded in prison custody 29-year-old Ghali Isma’il, arrested by the Department of State Services for posting fake Tik Tok videos on his verified handle @bola_asiwaju, insinuating the death of President Bola Tinubu.
DSS officers who arrested Isma’il, told the court that his conduct contravened Sections 416 and 418 of the Penal Code Act, Cap P3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004., but Amnesty International was quick to term Ismail’s arrest as a “clear demonstration of abuse of power,” claiming that the “DSS flagrantly arrested Ghali Isma’il without thoroughly investigating veracity and the authenticity of the video.”
It also described the arrest as a display of “utter incompetence and despration to gag young Nigerians and restrict their use of social media to examine the society and to ask critical questions,” adding, “such arrests are heavy-handed and endanger freedom of expression.”
NEYGA has criticised Amnesty International for hiding under the cover of freedom to fan the embers of disunity and hate speech capable of destabilising the country.
In a statement issued in Kaduna, the group disclosed that it was “alarmed that AI jumped into the fray out of ignorance, mischief, or both,” and even walked the dangerously slippery path of questioning the investigative capacity of Nigeria’s secret police. The statement signed by the group’s spokesman, Alhaji Ibrahim Dan-Musa.
“It is sad that Amnesty International is pretending that it is unaware that this so-social media influencer, Ghali Isma’il, has been flooding the social media space with outright lies and fake news capable of threatening the security and unity of Nigeria.
“In fact, we believe the new DSS DG, a man who believes in due process and the rule of law, is the reason it took this long to bring our brother, Ismail, to account for his actions. We commend the DSS for aporiaching the courts to determine Isma’il’s guilt or innocence.
“If Amnesty International feels so strongly about Ismail’s condition, they should help him hire the best lawyers at the next adjourned date. Members of this group had reached out and warned him on his fake posts that were also very disturbing and that such could attract the attention of security agencies.
“His response had been that, under the law, he enjoys freedom of speech, forgetting that where one man’s freedom ends is where another begins. In fact, it won’t be wrong to draw a nexus between Ismail’s position and that of Amnesty International. It won’t be wrong to say that AI encouraged or even paid him on to post most of those fake videos just to harm Nigeria’s sovereignty,” noted the group.
“It is most nfortunate that AI would support reckless actions designed to incite hatred and sow seeds of discord in Nigeria. Consequently, we urge our security agencies, particilatly the DSS, to investigate the activities of AI in Nigeria as there is sufficient suspicion that they do not seek the good of Nigeria,” said the group.
“When Nnamdi Kanu alleged that the late President Muhammadu Buhari had died and was replaced by a body double from Sudan, we condemned him. See where Kanu’s freedom of speech has landed us. This is why we stand resolute in our condemnation of Ghali Isma’il’s recent publications and the support he enjoys from Amnesty International,” said NEYGA.
It also called on Nigerians to exercise caution and verify information from credible sources, urging media organizations and civil society groups to unite in the fight against misinformation and disinformation that threaten the nation’s peace and unity.
Crediblenewsng.com
