Amnesty International, AI, has explained that its presence in Nigeria is not to fight the government in power but to ensure that people’s rights are not abused in any part of the country.
AI made the claims at a two-day training on human rights centred reporting organised for journalists in the South West region.
At the training held in Ibadan, Oyo, the Finance and Office Manager of AI, Benedicta Ofili, told participants that the sole aim of the organisation is to ensure that people’s rights are properly protected and not abused.
Ofili noted that the organisation usually crosschecks available information about issues before any reaction is made public and does not rely on rumors or hearsay but sends its staff to conduct impact assessment before making its findings public. 
She enjoined Nigerian journalists not to shy away from reporting human rights issues, explaining that insinuations that the organisation is always against the government is not true.
”Our concern is to ensure that the rights of the people are well protected, our presence in Nigeria is based on human rights protection. We don’t fight the government. We are not here to fight the government.
“We are here to ensure that people’s rights are properly managed.
“If the populace understand that something is not good, they may not do anything about it, but the media can do something about it. The media is the voice that people listen to.”
