Nigerian CSOs demand ICC to open investigation into atrocity crimes in Nigeria

Civil society organisations in Nigeria have requested the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ,ICC, Mr Karim Khan, to urgently open full investigations into allegations of massive atrocity crimes committed by criminal gangs, terrorists and bandits as well as by law enforcement and military operatives in Nigeria. 

The call was contained in a press statement by Chino Obiagwu, Chair, steering committe of the Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court (NCICC) made available to journalist on Sunday.

The statement reads partly “The call was made at an interactive meeting held by CSOs with the ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, who was visiting Nigeria”.

Earlier, Mr Niang had met with officials of the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs and Defence, and other justice stakeholders.

Mr. Obiagwu explained that Since 2011, the ICC has been looking into allegations of widespread atrocity crimes in Nigeria, being crimes prohibitted under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which are genocide, war crimes, crime against humanity and the crime of aggression”. 

According to him, “ICC intervention in Nigeria was in the context of Boko Haram insurgency and other violent crimes in the middle belt region.  By 2021, the then ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, issued a report indicating that credible evidence existed to support the allegations that massive and systematic atrocity crimes were being commited by both the  military and the insurgents, and that Nigerian government had not demonstrated its ability to prosecute most of the crimes so as to bring the perpetrators to justice and give redress to victims”. 

However, the Prosecutor indicated that she would not be going ahead to open full investigations into these allegations because of limited resources faced by her office. As a result, many victims and communities affected by violent crimes such as terrorism, banditory and insurgency across the country had their hopes for justice dashed, as the Nigeria’s law enforcement and justice systems remain unable to deal with the situation. 

With a new prosecutor at the ICC, Mr Karim Khan since 2022, Nigerian NGOs working to tackle impunity for atrocity crimes in Nigeria and their allies were hopeful that there would be possibilities of the ICC Prosecutor revisiting the Nigerian situation so as to open and undertake full investigations into these atrocity crimes and possibly charge and prosecute the perpetrators, especially, the high ranking commanders and officials.

He noted that the visit of ICC Deputy Prosecutor Niang to Nigeria, and his  interactions with a wide section of stakeholders are positive indication of renewed hope for  justice for victims of these crimes and their families. 

Since 2009, terrorism, banditory, kidnapping, killings and other violent crimes have been on steady rise in almost all parts of the country. On April 2014, hundreds of school girls were abducted from their hostels in Chibok in Northeast Nigeria. Since then, violent attacks on schools and mass kidnapping of students and teachers have been on steady increase. 

The failure of the Nigerian government to resolve the Chibok abduction and to return all the girls to their families has been the main impetus for widespread criminal attacks on schools, especially in the northeast and northwest Nigeria. 

“Insecurity and bandittory have also extended to nearly all parts of the country. On March 20, 2024, following the unlawful killings of several soldiers in a reverine community in Delta state by criminal bandits, the entire communities where the crimes were committed were attacked and many people were Several similar violence occur regularly across the country” Mr. Obiagwu added .

CSOs expressed their hope  to the ICC Deputy Prosecutor that the intervention of the ICC into the Nigerian situation and the commencement of its investigations into the numerous allegations of atrocity crimes will contribute in reducing the impunity and deter further violations. 

Nigerian NGOs further expressed their commitment to support and work with the ICC in the quest for justice and the fight against impunty in Nigeria under the platform of the Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court (NCICC).