The Nigerian Army is using quotes from President Donald Trump to justify its treatment of protesters.
Several people were killed on Monday when Nigeria’s army fired automatic weapons into a group of protesters, reports The Guardian. The military claims only three dissidents died during the incident, according to Al Jazeera. Human rights organization Amnesty International refuted the number and said there were 45 casualties. Protesters have said there were at least 18 killed.
Amnesty International claims the protest was a peaceful one, but Nigeria sees it differently. Army officials say the protesters were throwing stones and tweeted then deleted a video of Trump giving a speech about how he'd ordered the military to respond to a caravan of mostly Central American asylum seekers making their way to the southern U.S. border.
“They’re throwing rocks viciously and violently,” the president claimed of the largely peaceful asylum seekers, according to ABC News. “They want to throw rocks at our military, our military is going to fight back. Anybody throwing rocks … we will consider that a firearm.”
John Agim, a spokesman for the Nigerian army, cited Trump when justifying the force’s actions, according to The New York Times.
“We released that video to say if President Trump can say that rocks are as good as a rifle, who is Amnesty International?” he said. “What are they then saying? What did David use to kill Goliath? So a stone is a weapon.”
Agim also painted the soldiers as the actual victims of the day of violence.
“Our soldiers sustained injuries,” he continued. “The Shiites even burnt one of our vehicles so what are Amnesty International saying?”
The Shia Muslim protesters gathered to call for the release of Islamic Movement of Nigeria leader Ibrahim Zakzaky. The cleric has been in prison since 2015 following an army crackdown that left hundreds of his supporters dead. Nigerian courts have ordered his release, but the government has ignored the ruling as it sees Zakzaky, who has called for an Islamic Revolution à la Iran, as a threat. Shia Muslims are a minority in the West African country.
Islamic Movement of Nigeria spokesman Ibrahim Musa said the Nigerian Army’s use of force was extreme and argued the American president makes a poor role model.
“Rocks are not equal to bullets,” he said. “The use of force is disproportionate. I don’t think President Trump is a good example — even in America, many are critical of him. I am surprised that the army will use Trump as a role model.”
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