Boko Haram Indicted For Crimes Against Humanity By The ICC

Members of the violent Islamist sect, Boko Haram,
may soon be dragged to The Hague to face war
crimes as the International Criminal Court (ICC) on
Monday indicted the sect for crime against
humanity for its widespread and systematic murder
and persecution of civilians.
The report titled "Situation in Nigeria" says there is
reasonably basis that since July 2009, the group that
aims to spread radical Islam in Northern Nigeria has
committed crime against humanity. After this
indictment, the ICC says the next step is to assess
whether Nigerian government is working on
"conducting genuine proceedings in relation to those
who appear to bear the greatest responsibility for
such crimes and the gravity of such crimes."
The ICC investigation may run into trouble with the
Nigerian government, as the federal government has
constituted a committee negotiating peace and
amnesty with the sect. The ICC, however, has the
power to prosecute cases that national courts of
signatory nations are unwilling or unable to investigate
or prosecute.
Nigeria ratified the ICC statute on September 27, 2001
giving the court jurisdiction to over crimes committed
within Nigeria from 1 July 2002. The report highlights
various attacks on civilian population by the sect. It
also described these attacks as systematic and
widespread spanning over the entire North Eastern
region as well as Plateau, Kogi, Kano, Bauchi and
Kaduna States.
True to the sect's aim of Islamising the north,
churches were singled out for constant attacks, the
report noted. The report also concludes that the
planning of this attacks shows they are products of
organisational policy therefore qualifying them as
crimes against humanity.
On the violence in the Niger Delta and confrontation
between Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger
Delta (MEND) and security forces, the report says
there "does not appear to be a reasonable basis to
believe that the alleged crimes committed in the Delta
Region could constitute war crimes."
It however says the situation may be revisited in the
light of fresh facts and evidence. On alleged crimes
committed by soldiers fighting the Boko Haram, while
the report acknowledges that serious human rights
violations may have been committed, it concludes that
they do not constitute crime against humanity.
"Information available as of December 2012 does not
provide a reasonable basis to believe that the alleged
crimes were committed pursuant to or in furtherance
of a State or organizational policy to attack the civilian
population," it said.