Chioma Vivian
ABUJA, NIGERIA— The National Secretariat of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity, and Justice has intercepted a highly toxic, malicious, and entirely fabricated narrative currently being circulated across digital blogs and WhatsApp broadcast networks.
This dangerous fake news alleges that the Federal Government is bypassing the Nigerian military to secretly negotiate a ₦50 Billion “Amnesty and Settlement” package with notorious bandit kingpins in the North-West.
As a frontline civil society watchdog, we state categorically that this rumor is the hallucination of desperate war profiteers and political detractors. There is no secret amnesty, and there is no ₦50 billion payout.
Our independent intelligence and media monitoring units have traced the motive behind this coordinated disinformation campaign:
Under the decisive leadership of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, the Nigerian Army has launched devastating kinetic offensives that are currently decimating bandit enclaves.
These criminal syndicates are being rapidly degraded, their political sponsors and war profiteers, who have historically benefited financially from national insecurity, are now resorting to cheap digital blackmail. Their objective is to demoralize our gallant frontline soldiers, incite public rage against the government, and manufacture a fake rift between the masses and the national security architecture.
OUR STAND AND UPCOMING INTERVENTION
We will not allow agents of destabilization to use cheap propaganda to steal the hard-won victories of our military. The defense of our homeland is a collective responsibility, which is why our Coalition, in partnership with the Network of Youth Groups in Nigeria, is hosting a mega “National Security Summit” on *Thursday, July 30, 2026*, in Abuja.
This Summit, in direct strategic alignment with the Nigerian Army’s Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) mandate, will consolidate our “Whole-of-Society” approach, ensuring that youth-led intelligence and grassroots support serve as an impenetrable shield for our military forces.
” We call on the Department of State Services and the National Cybercrime Center to immediately track and prosecute the source of this treasonable fake news.
” We urge all credible newspaper editors and digital platforms to treat this amnesty rumor with the absolute contempt it deserves and refuse to amplify terrorist propaganda.
” We pass a resounding vote of confidence on the Chief of Army Staff and the entire Nigerian Armed Forces. Civil society stands firmly behind you. No retreat, no surrender” .
*Signed:*
*Comrade James Okoronkwo*
*National Coordinator / Convener*
Coalition of Civil Society Groups for Peace, Security, Good Governance, Equity, and Justice
