The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) on Friday in Abuja picked holes in the recent report by Amnesty International in which the global body gave a damning report about the security situation in the country.

At a press briefing in the premises of the group in Abuja, its national coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Charanchi, said it had come to their notice that there were orchestrated plans to sow the seed of discord between Northern Nigerian Muslims and Christians.

Charanchi said, “Recent reports from international human rights organisations, particularly Amnesty International have raised red flags regarding the escalating violence in our communities.

“They claimed that over 10,217 people have been killed in the past two years since the current government assumed power, with a staggering 6,896 fatalities in Benue state alone and 2,630 in Plateau state; however, we must express our deep concern regarding the lack of transparency in these figure.”

CNG noted that “at the moment, the security landscape reflects significant improvement that allows citizens to traverse routes such as Abuja to Kaduna and onward to Gusau and Katrina with a sense of safety.”

“This progress underscores the effectiveness of governmental strategies in addressing security challenges, fostering an environment conducive to travel and economic activities. Acknowledging these successes is crucial for a balanced understanding of the ongoing efforts to enhance national security.”

It noted that the narrative being pushed out by AI “is not only misleading, but dangerous as it serves to deepen division between communities at a time that everyone is fostering dialogue and understanding.”

“Amnesty International failed to provide credible source for their statistics thereby leading us to believe that they deliberately inflated the figures to portray Christians as the primary victims in the ongoing crisis.

“To this end, we call for a comprehensive review of the operations of organisations like Amnesty International in Nigeria. We believe that their continued influence may do more harm than good and we advocate for a ban on their activities within our borders.”