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ABUJA, Nigeria (NAN) - A civil society group, Ayudantees Empowerment Initiatives (AYI), has faulted the recent report by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), ranking Nigeria as the 6th most affected by terrorism in the world.
The Executive Director of AYI, Mr Amechi Oyema, stated this while briefing newsmen in reaction to the GTI report on Monday in Abuja.
Oyema said the report did not reflect the situation on ground, and questioned the methodology used by the organisation and the authorities involved in the study that led to the report.
He questioned whether the Nigerian authorities were carried along and whether the report considered that the bandits and terrorists were under pressure as a result of intensive operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
"Did they consider the number of bandits, terrorists among others that have surrendered to our troops and the number that have been neutralised in battlefield? Did they consider the aggression with which our troops are pursuing the enemies of our country? Today, we stand with the Defence Headquarters to declare that the report is not valid because we believe the GTI should have considered reports on ground and analysed them critically before submitting the report," he said.
Oyema expressed concern that the recent GTI report could cause apprehension in the society, adding that the people must be considered before reports like this were released.
"Our troops making sacrifices should not be demoralised. We need to support them. Hence, AYI like the DHQ is advising the public, especially the media, to ignore the report. See also Illicit small arms smuggling responsible for insecurity South-east – IPCR.
"The troops under the able leadership of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, must be supported. We must not generate reports that don’t reflect what is on ground," he added.
