SERAP Calls On ICC For Intervention Over Plateau Killings

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Karim A. A. Khan, has been called upon to issue a formal ‘preventative statement’ about the ongoing violence, unlawful killings, and crimes against children and other violations of international law in Plateau State, Nigeria.

The above call came from the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which equally asked Mr Khan “to undertake preliminary examination into the situation in Plateau State and to open an investigation or extend any current investigations to cover the ongoing situation in the state.”

Specifically, SERAP pleaded with Mr Khan “to visit Plateau State to show the commitment by your Office to deliver meaningful accountability and justice for the victims of the Plateau attacks and to deploy resources from the Trust Fund that your Office has established to ensure access of victims to effective remedies, including reparations.”

It would be recalled that more than 190 people are reportedly dead and hundreds injured. Several people are also said to be missing. 

According to the Nigerian Red Cross, 32,604 persons have so far been affected.

Referring to its letter dated December 30, 2023, and signed by the group’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation, said: “Your urgent intervention would reassure victims and their families that they would receive effective remedies including reparations.

“It would serve to deter further violations and address the prevailing culture of impunity for such crimes across the country. It is the impunity of perpetrators and their sponsors that continues to fuel these human rights crimes.”

In the letter, SERAP argued that “There is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes under international law and within the jurisdiction of the ICC have been committed in the ongoing violence in Plateau State.

“These allegations are also sufficiently grave to warrant a formal statement and preliminary examination by your Office.

“Your intervention in the situation in Plateau State would demonstrate your oft-repeated promise to strengthen the rule of law at the international level to the benefit of everyone.

“Nigerian authorities have a primary responsibility to ensure accountability and justice and reparations for these human rights crimes. However, Nigerian authorities are generally unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute these grave human rights crimes domestically.”

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