Jurist ICC Prosecutor Office urged to formally investigate atrocities by Nigeria military

[Dadparvar]

Amnesty International criticized the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor on Monday for dashing the hopes of survivors of atrocities by the military in Nigeria, after failing to formally move to open an investigation more than five years after deciding that an investigation in Nigeria is warranted.

The Nigerian military is accused of having slaughtered 640 men and boys after they fled the Giwa barracks detention centre in Maiduguri following an attack by the Boko Haram militant group in 2014. The incident led to the ICC Prosecutor concluding that an investigation in Nigeria was warranted, yet after a visit by the Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang to Abuja in March 2024, the office provided no update on the situation before the ICC.

Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang highlighted the success of her visit to Nigeria, saying:

I’m grateful to the Nigerian authorities for the frank and open dialogue on accountability relating to alleged crimes in the situation attributed to the military and armed groups. I welcome the expression of willingness and ability by the Nigerian authorities to take their full responsibility as regards the alleged criminal conduct the Office has identified.

Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC had also visited Nigeria in April 2022, during which he had reminded Nigerian authorities of their legal obligations under the Rome Statute to conduct effective, genuine and meaningful national investigations and prosecutions of the alleged conduct by the Nigerian military. This principle is stated in both the preamble and Article 17 of the Rome Statute, the latter of which stipulates that a case is inadmissible before the ICC if it is being investigated or prosecuted by a State which has jurisdiction over it, unless the State is unwilling or unable to genuinely carry out the investigation.

Amnesty International Nigeria’s Director, Isa Sanusi highlighted their concerns with the statement at the conclusion of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor’s visit, saying:

Once again, the Office of the Prosecutor demonstrates its slow abandonment of victims and survivors of the conflict in northeast Nigeria. Instead of investigating the atrocities, the Office of the Prosecutor’s rare visits to Nigeria mainly consist in meeting with national authorities.

The Nigerian military had been fighting Boko Haram in Maiduguri when the incident happened, and the detention centre was allegedly housing many arbitrarily rounded individuals during mass arrests. This comes just months after the Nigerian military was accused by Amnesty of failing to protect their population from violent attacks carried out amid the ongoing armed conflict. This also comes just a month after Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the invasion of the Yelewata farming community and renewed demands for accountability.

The post ICC Prosecutor Office urged to formally investigate atrocities by Nigeria military appeared first on JURIST - News.

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