By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has outlined reasons why the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, should stop the prolonged investigation of the Nigerian military.
The AGF stated the country’s position in a statement on Monday.The statement was made available to the media in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Kamarudeen Ogundele.
According to the statement, the AGF, in his remarks at the 23rd session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC in Hague, expressed Nigeria’s commitment to confronting impunity, holding perpetrators of heinous crimes accountable, and restoring justice for victims. He noted that the preliminary examination into alleged crimes in Nigeria had lasted 14 years and was demoralising to the service men paying ultimate price in their bids to defend their country against terrorists.
He said, “While we respect the court’s mandate to intervene when states are unable or unwilling to prosecute such crimes, it is important to emphasise that there must be respect and regard to the principle of complementarity. The ICC is meant to act as a court of last resort, intervening only when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to address grave crimes. I must assert that Nigeria does not fall under any such situation. Our nation has consistently demonstrated both the will and the capacity to investigate and prosecute serious crimes, including those committed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. We are proud of the Nigerian military, which has systems and structures in place to ensure their operations are guided by international humanitarian law and human rights principles.
“At the 22nd Session of this Assembly, Nigeria reported the establishment of an independent Special Investigative Panel by the National Human Rights Commission to address allegations against the Nigerian military made by Reuters. After thorough investigations spanning eight months, the panel found no evidence to substantiate these claims. The allegations of killings, torture, and the recruitment of underage fighters have been proven to be false and exaggerated.
“Indeed, the work of the panel and acceptance of its recommendations by the government clearly indicates that Nigeria has the political will to investigate allegations of heinous crimes and hold violators accountable.
“The conduct of military operations during conflict is regulated by international humanitarian law, and we can assure this Assembly that the Nigerian military does not engage in arbitrary killings or inhumane treatment of those no longer directly participating in hostilities. Our military ensures that captured combatants are treated with dignity and respect. While inadvertent mistakes or errors of judgment may occur in the chaos of conflict, these are promptly investigated by impartial commissions and panels. I wish to state that Nigeria has a well-established and functional court martial system for holding erring officers accountable. We also employ restorative justice measures, including compensation, when appropriate.
“In addition, Nigeria’s six-month Demobilization, Deradicalization, and Reintegration programme has successfully reintegrated 4,000 former Boko Haram combatants into society. We continue to prioritise the training and re-training of our armed forces, ensuring that human rights and international humanitarian law remain at the forefront of our military operations, with a focus on the protection of civilian protection.”
The AGF observed further that the country was concerned by the seemingly predetermined stance of the Office of the Prosecutor regarding armed forces and the situation in Nigeria despite these efforts.
“We are also concerned about activities of apologists of terrorist groups, parading as civil society organisations, who are continuously making unsubstantiated allegations in order to undermine legitimate efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces,” he added.
Fagbemi called on all States Parties to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as the use of cluster munitions continues to cause widespread suffering and hinders peace-building and humanitarian efforts.
“Nigeria stands firm with fellow State Parties in the shared commitment to ending impunity for the world’s most serious crimes. We fully support the work of the ICC and encourage those States Parties yet to accede to the Rome Statute to do so,” he added.
Recall that in 2010, the Amnesty International had written the International Criminal Court claiming that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed both by the armed group Boko Haram and the Nigerian security forces in north-east Nigeria in 2009.
Amnesty International had added that it documented many of these crimes, including the March 2014 Giwa barracks massacre.
“10 years ago this month the Nigerian military slaughtered at least 640 men and boys after they fled the Giwa barracks in Maiduguri, Borno state, following a Boko Haram attack.”Isa Sanusi, Director Amnesty International Nigeria had written in 2020 urging ICC to take actions.
On 11 December 2020, after 10 years of preliminary examination, (former) ICC Prosecutor closed the Nigeria preliminary examination concluding that crimes against humanity and war crimes had been committed and that the Nigerian authorities had failed to genuinely investigate and prosecute these crimes, therefore warranting a full investigation by the ICC.
