News Agency Of Nigeria

<h1>The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Wednesday, said there were contractions in the report.</h1>

“The attention of the Nigerian military has been drawn to the recent report released by Amnesty International in its chapter 3 as “Nigerian Military Crimes”.

“The said report cannot be credible as the research did not meet the universal academic or global best practice criteria,” he said.

He said the research did not have the justifiable percentage of sample in the population claimed to have been investigated.

According to him, for the entire so called research, the question is, to whom is the loyalty of the respondents selected by AI; Boko Haram or peace loving Borno citizens?

“However, it is desirable in the interest of the general public to bring out some contradictions in the report that tends to criminalise the Nigerian military which is not true,” he said.

The coordinator described as baseless, the claims by AI that soldiers killed older people, among others who were trying to flee from their homes.

He said the military was guided by extant regulations and Rules of Engagement.

According to him, AI also admits on page 36 of their report that “during previous Amnesty International research, some former detainees, including children, admitted openly that they had been in the armed group – sometimes through recruitment and other times through abduction.

“AI cannot rule out that older people interviewed for this report at times supported Boko Haram. This is to buttress the fact that the military will and cannot detain civilians unlawfully,” he said.

Enenche quoted AI as saying, “In recent years, soldiers and CJTF members involved in ‘screening” have sent fewer older people, among other groups to detention.

He said the conditions had improved in recent years, especially as the Red Cross received more access to some military detention facilities, including Giwa.

He said the report also stated that soldiers had increasingly refrained from detaining older people fleeing Boko Haram controlled areas in recent years.

“These among several others in the report are obvious contradictions to the portrayal of the Nigerian military by AI.

“As such, it is a deliberate attempt to discredit the Nigerian military in the fight against insurgency and terrorism in the North East which should be resisted.

“Nigerians should be assured that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will not be deterred in the fight to rid the country of terrorists and criminals in the country in spite of the allegations.

“The report is clear desperation targeted at blackmailing the Nigerian military. Thus, the report should be discountenanced,” he said.&nbsp;

The Nigerian The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) [Leadership]

The Defence Headquarters has accused Amnesty International (AI) of blackmailing the Nigerian military in its recent report accusing the military of crimes against older people in the North East.

Army accuses Amnesty International of blackmailing Nigerian military

Bayo Wahab

<h1>No less than 12 peaceful protesters were killed by men of the Nigerian army and police at the protest grounds in Lekki and Alausa on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, according to Amnesty International.</h1>

In a statement on Wednesday, October 21, the human rights agency said the pieces of evidence it gathered showed that the security forces opened fire on thousands of Nigerians, who were peacefully protesting against <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/endsars-police-kill-protester-in-lagos/10xchzk">police brutality in the country.&nbsp;</a>

The agency said the protesters at Alausa protest ground were attacked by a team of soldiers and policemen from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Unit around 8:00 pm.

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army and police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters yesterday at two locations in Lagos. Killings took place in Lekki and Alausa, where thousands were protesting police brutality. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARS</a>&mdash; Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmnestyNigeria/status/1318970116651044866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

</div>

The statement reads, “An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army and police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters yesterday at two locations in Lagos. Killings took place in Lekki and Alausa, where thousands were protesting police brutality. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a>.

“Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that between 6:45pm and 9:00pm on Tuesday 20 October, the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people who were peacefully calling for an end to police brutality. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a>

“Witnesses at the Lekki protest grounds told Amnesty International that soldiers arrived at about 6:45pm local time on Tuesday evening, and opened fire on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSars?src=hashtag_click">#EndSars</a> protesters without warning.

“Eyewitnesses at Alausa protest ground said they were attacked by a team of soldiers and policemen from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Unit at about 8:00 pm, leaving at least two people dead and one critically injured. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a>.

“Opening fire on peaceful protesters is a blatant violation of people’s rights to life, dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Soldiers clearly had one intention — to kill without consequences. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LekkiMassacre?src=hashtag_click">#LekkiMassacre</a>.

“Amnesty International received reports that shortly before the shootings, CCTV cameras at the Lekki toll gate, where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a> protesters had camped for two weeks, were removed by government officials and the electricity was cut — a clear attempt to hide evidence.

“As in previous cases documented by Amnesty International, some of those killed and injured at both grounds were allegedly taken away by the military. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hashtag_click">#EndSARS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LekkiMassacre?src=hashtag_click">#LekkiMassacre</a>.

“These shootings clearly amount to extrajudicial executions. There must be an immediate investigation and suspected perpetrators must be held accountable through fair trials. Authorities must ensure access to justice and effective remedies for the victims and their families”.

For over two weeks, Nigerian youths have been on the streets in cities across the country demanding holistic police reforms and an end to police brutality under the ‘End SARS’ banner.

Peaceful protesters at Lekki before a team of soldiers shot at them killing some of the protesting youths

The human rights agency says protesters at Alausa were attacked by a team of police and soldiers.

Amnesty International: 'Nigerian Army and Police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters on Oct 20'

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