Jos, 19 May, 2023 / 9:05 pm (ACI Africa).
Many individuals and organizations who vehemently spoke against Christian persecution in Nigeria are now silent, a Catholic human rights defender has said, noting that most activists no longer criticize the government amid increasing violation of rights because “they have been bought”.
In a Tuesday, May 16 interview with ACI Africa, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the founder of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), criticized the Nigerian government for setting aside large amounts of money to silence human rights activists in the country.
Some activists, he said, have received death threats, and intimidated in various other ways into abandoning their course. Others, further said, have jumped ship and are now government mouthpieces.
“The government has sponsored a multi-billion-naira international propaganda campaign to bastardize the work of human rights activists. Many activists have been bought and are now government apologists,” Mr. Umeagbalasi said.
The member of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha added, “Ours is a government that has kept borrowing and using the money to bribe their way all over the world as they continue to kill people. Human rights activists here have been bribed. The government goes around bribing lobbyists even those outside the country to cover up Christian persecution.”
