ICC probes rights violations in Nigeria, others

Mr San-Hyun Song
President of the International Criminal Court

ICC probes rights violations in Nigeria, others

THE United Nations (UN)-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, has restated its readiness to investigate reported cases of human rights violations in Nigeria.

The President of the ICC,Mr San-Hyun Song, indicated this in the annual report of its activities presented to the UN at the General Assembly which kicked off last month in New York.

Reports say this development may not be unconnected with the petition that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) filed to the ICC, requesting an update of the ICC’s investigation regarding the crimes perpetrated in Jos, Plateau State and asking the prosecutor to “make progress” and bring his “analysis and investigation of allegations of crimes against humanity in Jos to a quick and satisfactory completion.”

However, Nigeria’s adherence to the rule of law and its international dimension was on partial display at the UN as member-nations in the General Assembly listened to the annual reports from both the International Court of Justice (aka World Court) and the International Criminal Court on Wednesday afternoon.

UN Investigations

While the President of the ICC listed Nigeria among the countries where the court is continuing investigations, Nigeria’s Attorney-General Mohammed Bello Adoke spoke at the same General Assembly meeting, stating Nigeria’s “unequivocal support” for peaceful dispute settlements.

Rendering a report of all the cases before the ICC, Sang-Hyun however noted that it was in the area of preliminary investigation that Nigeria’s case featured in the ICC alongside five other countries and cases.

A UN statement quoted Sang-Hyun as saying “the Office of the Prosecutor was conducting preliminary examinations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Georgia, Guinea, Honduras, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea and the Occupied Palestinian territory.”

But the statement did not detail the specific subject of investigation. The report covered the last one year which is the reporting period under consideration before the UN General Assembly.

Sources also added that the ICC was examining reports on recurrent killings in Jos, especially in the last one year.

A statement by the ICC prosecutor said:”The office made its examination of the situation in Nigeria public on November 18, 2010. Nigeria is a State Party to the Rome Statute since September 27, 2001. The office has been analysing the alleged crimes committed in Central Nigeria since mid-2004 and is looking forward to engaging constructively with the Nigerian authorities on the issue.”

Response

In his own speech which was in response to the presentation by the World Court to the UN General Assembly, Nigeria’s Attorney-General did not touch on the ICC report which listed Nigeria among countries where its investigations were in progress.

Attorney-General Adoke however expressed his unequivocal support for peaceful dispute settlement and underlined Nigeria’s adherence to the ICJ’s judgments as the principal judicial organ of the UN.

Adoke noted that the universality of the court’s rulings deserved accolades, and in that context, he called on countries that had not yet honoured its jurisdiction to do so.
While speaking on the Bakassi case, Adoke thanked the court for its judgment, which had been carried out under the Green Tree Agreement, whose implementation on the Nigerian side, the attorney-general is coordinating.

Adoke also stressed the importance of the ICJ’s role in the development of international law and restated Nigeria’s support for the court.

NP/Adekusibe/Ekata