Group Drags Nigeria To International Criminal Court, Complains Of Boko Haram Atrocities, And Government Complicity
Ihejirika and Modu SheriffHuman and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has dragged Nigerian government to the International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, Netherlands, requesting it to investigate allegations of complicity against government officials in the terrorism war by Boko Haram in parts of the Northern Nigeria.
In a letter addressed to Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda of the ICC, the aggrieved group is asking for ‘Possible prosecution of culpabile Nigerian Government officials in Boko Haram terrorism and Genocidal atrocities in Northern Nigeria.
The letter, signed by HEDA’s chairman, Olarenwaju Suraju, drew Bensouda’s attention “to the unfolding revelations surrounding the alleged sponsorship and conspiratorial support of certain ex-officials of the Nigerian Government to the terrorist group, Boko Haram.”
The group said: “The heinous crimes against humanity being perpetuated by the terrorist group in the North-eastern and a few other parts of the country since 2009, is in clear violation of Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
“We, therefore, invite you to open a comprehensive examination of these violations. This is only in line with your office’s promise in a statement issued in response to the criminal abduction of 279 school children of Chibok community in Borno State. We equally wish to request that you investigate and prosecute any international crime that may have been committed by the Boko Haram terrorist group and their sponsors, under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
HEDA drew attention to an earlier statement credited to Bensouda, in April 2014, in response to the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorists, which reads in part:
“I am deeply troubled and alarmed by disturbing reports of alleged abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Borno State, Nigeria, and the most recent reports that more schoolgirls have been abducted this week. Such acts shock the conscience of humanity and could constitute crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The situation in Nigeria has been under preliminary examination by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC since 2010. In August 2013, the office issued a report concluding that (there is a reasonable basis to believe that) Boko Haram has been committing crimes against humanity of murder and persecution since July 2009. Information gathered by the office indicates that there has been a sharp increase in the frequency and intensity of attacks attributed to Boko Haram since January 2014, including a significant increase in alleged abductions of women and girls and of sexual slavery. Some of Boko Haram’s alleged crimes would also amount to war crimes, as the Prosecutor has recently concluded that the situation constitutes a non international armed conflict.
“As Nigeria is a state which is a party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on the territory of Nigeria or by its nationals from July 1, 2002 onwards. Having concluded that some of the alleged crimes committed in the Nigeria situation fall within subject-matter jurisdiction of the ICC, the Office of the Prosecutor is currently assessing relevant national proceedings in conformity with the principle of complementarity.
“Under the Rome Statute, the Nigerian authorities have primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes. Such cases may become admissible before the ICC if there are no relevant investigations or prosecutions in Nigeria, or if the national authorities are unwilling or unable to carry out genuine investigations or prosecutions.”
HEDA noted that the total number of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon now stands at some 39,000, while Niger is already hosting more than 50,000 forcibly displaced people from Nigeria since May 2013.
“Another 1,500 Nigerians have sought refuge in Chad. In Nigeria, 645,000 have been displaced in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, according to UNHCR spokesman, Adrian Edwards.”
The group recalled that in July 2014, Boko Haram was reported for the first time to have taken control over a city – Damboa in Borno State – setting up road blocks and checkpoints in what would represent a major strategic victory over the military.
“More than 15, 000 people fled as a consequence of the attack, increasing the number of internally displaced people (IDP), which is estimated to have surpassed 3.3 million since 2010. In fact, Nigeria has one of the highest IDP populations in the world, a pressing challenge that requires immediate response, according to UN Human Rights expert.
“On a conservative estimate, the death toll arising from Boko Haram’s activities between July 2009 and July 2014 is over 22,000. This includes 2,000 deaths in 2014 alone,” the group said.
HEDA continued recalled that recently, the Nigerian Government allegedly contracted Rev. Stephen Davis, the Australian international negotiator, to dialogue with the Boko Haram sect to secure the release of the abducted Chibok girls.
It said that in an interesting turn of event, Rev. Davis named the country’s former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, and former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff, as sponsors of the terrorist group.
It noted that the negotiator, obviously out of frustration from the failure of government to act on his discoveries in the course of negotiation and recommendations for action, spoke to the media, specifically indicting some high-ranking security and government officials as sponsors of the terrorists.
“The spread, daring nature and unchecked ferocity of the Boko Haram group supports the revelation of Stephen Davis, with respect to the involvement of security and government officials in the sponsorship of the terrorists.
“With your public admittance of Boko Haram’s activities as qualifying for crimes against humanity, we shall not bother with further legal points to qualify these atrocities under the Rome Statute. It is also instructive to assert that the Nigerian government, under the current leadership lacks the political will and judicial independence to prosecute the individuals who are friends and former subordinates of the President.
“It is said that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. HEDA is concerned that the failure of the International Criminal Court to halt the egregious affront and murderous campaigns of the Boko Haram, makes more Nigerians and citizens of neighbouring countries potential victims of their brazen murder of innocent souls. We hereby urge the ICC to urgently open immediate examination of this development by inviting Rev. Stephen Davis to provide insight into his revelations, to assist the court in its investigation and possible prosecution of those connected with the crimes.”
[myad]
A popular Nollywood Actor, Desmong Elliot has done with acting and directing as he now eyes a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Many worshippers, including foreigners were feared dead in the Synagogue church in Lagos when the 5-storey building housing the church collapsed. The incidence occurred at about 2pm today at Ikotun, Lagos. The church is owned by Pastor T. B. Joshua.
The Shame Of #Bring Back Goodluck2015#
It took the intervention of the US Newspaper, The Washington Post, to draw the attention of the world and President Goodluck Jonathan on the primitive and evil machinations of the president’s men who tried few days back to use the hash tag,
#BringBackOurGirls# to pursue their wicked and narrow agenda for 2015.
The moment The Washington Post hit the newsstand, President Jonathan ordered his handlers and campaigners to dismantle the shameful campaign billboards across the country bearing the harsh tag #Bring Back Goodluck2015#.
In the social media yesterday, angry Nigerians disparaged the presidency and the supporters of the president for making mockery of our kidnapped girls who had spent 150days in captivity. Most contributors held the view that if Washington Post had not internationalized the ugly and dubious campaigns faking the #BringBackOurGirls# project, the President would have not ordered the stoppage of the useless campaign.
First, it was the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) who are going about the zones in Nigeria, staging rallies even when INEC has not blown the whistle for campaign rallies and drumming support for President Jonathan’s 2015 agenda in the face of massive hunger, insecurity, lack of electricity, joblessness, decayed infractstruture, brazen corruption, impunity, threat of insurgency, weak leadership, etc.
The TAN advocates have been blurring our line of vision and insulting our sensibilities but we have been silent believing that a time will come when a spade will be called a spade. We have left them believing that a time will come when the chicken will come home to roost. We have ignored their noise across the country knowing fully well that the time of reckoning is fast approaching. But these people have lost every sense of reasoning to realize when to say enough is enough. TAN is a resurrection of Abacha’s Youth Earnestly Ask For Abacha (YEA).Their mission and concept are the same and tallies with the decayed politics of our country.
How can a people with minds of their own forget that nearly 300 of our young girls have been in captivity for 150days? How can they ignore the feelings of the parents? Do they know that some of these parents have died of heart break because of the missing girls? Are these people real parents? Do they think in terms of these parents? Why do they have to abuse the hash tag #BringBackOurGirls# to campaign for a Commander-In-Chief who is not the real Commander-In-Chief? Are we still playing politics with the missing girls? Are these people not intelligent enough to find something else to use to sell their candidate than to steal the
#BringBackOurGirl# hashtag? How can a people who claim to possess good education indulge in this show of shame in the 21st century? A friend once told me that you cannot lead people if you do not love the people. You cannot save the people if you do not serve the people. Has the PDP led the people of Nigeria? Have these people served the people of Nigeria very well? No, they do not love us and they cannot save us.
Another learned friend of mine tells me that it is better to present a weak argument strongly than to present strong argument weakly. He told me that he cannot imagine a situation where a weak argument will be presented weakly. The campaigners of President Goodluck Jonathan are presenting a weak argument weakly. In their thinking, Nigerians cannot think or recall otherwise, they would have advised their candidate that he and his government have not done enough to justify the votes they got in 2011. They would have told him that the mounting state of insecurity, the unacceptable level of poverty, the state of total unemployment, the overwhelming state of corruption, the state of total infrastructural decay are not testimonials for re-election. Yes, they keep dividing Nigerians along ethnic and religious lines but these are not credible pedestals to power.
We live in interesting times in Nigeria where fake drugs are being presented to us as original drugs. They are giving us fake currencies for genuine ones. When it is 8am in the morning the workers of iniquity tell us it is 6pm. A weak President and a frightened Commander-In-Chief is being presented to us as the strongest president in Nigeria. Their campaign for re-election is structured on weak platforms. They are not structured on credible platforms of performance and integrity. They are not based on stellar performance. They are not based on facts. They are based on phantoms and fantasies. Now can this kite fly? It cannot. [myad]