No Boko Haram attack at Rann, group says

A civil society group, Save Humanity Advocacy Centre, has accused Amnesty International of spawning fake news.

It said this in reaction to the report that 60 persons were killed in Rann, Borno state during a Boko Haram attack.

The group said this in a statement issued on Friday.

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“We all have Amnesty International to thank for alerting the world to the reported killing of 60 persons in Boko Haram’s attack on Rann, Borno state,” the statement read.

“You may wish to note that Boko Haram’s propaganda infrastructure suffered some measure of decline as the media in Nigeria has increasingly become aware of the dangers of helping the terrorists to promote instances in which they carry out attacks.

“This lack of visibility on the part of Boko Haram must hurt the confidence of its fighters since they rely on the mainstream and social media to hype their evil deeds for them to be able to strike terror in the heart of Nigerians.

“The loss of access to these identified channels must have prompted Boko Haram to explore extreme options irrespective of whether this would expose its hidden long-term collaborators.

“This is exactly the risk that the terror group has taken by frontally  publicise the attack on Rann. This scenario may appear farfetched but the choice of words used in relating Boko Haram’s acts of terror in the town are consistent with an organization that is desirous of causing widespread terror and panic, which is the same objective that Boko Haram has.

“What makes this latest development worrisome is that the military authorities have asserted that there was no attack in Rann. In reviewing this situation, it is pertinent that the wellbeing of the citizens takes precedence.”