Tag Archives: Nigeria

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October 14, 2021

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International Criminal Court, International Criminal Justice, National Criminal Law, Rome Statute

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Propriety of Intervention of the International Criminal Court in the Boko Haram Situation in Nigeria

Izuchukwu Temilade Nwagbara Esq

The concept of international criminal law, which became prominent after the second world war with the Nuremberg trials, purports to prosecute crimes against humanity of a large and systematic scale/nature in a furious attempt to end impunity in human relations.[1] As such, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)[2]—the primary treaty in international criminal law—provides that the ICC shall have jurisdiction with respect to the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crimes of aggression.[3] In relation to the Boko Haram[4] situation in Nigeria, crimes against humanity and war crimes are the most relevant as regards the jurisdiction of the ICC.[5] Therefore, this post examines the possibility and the propriety of a prosecution of Boko Haram members in the ICC for their actions which come under the jurisdiction of the court.

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May 5, 2016

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Genocide

Genocide in Nigeria: Time to Speak Daggers to a Murderous State

Arthur Anyaduba [1]

Just within a few months into 2016, several communities in Nigeria continue to witness scores of herdsmen attacks. In each instance of these barbarous attacks, hundreds of people get murdered or maimed for life. A typical scene after these massacres usually assaults the conscience with dismembered bodies, decapitated heads, raped corpses of women, looted and burnt buildings, bullet and machete wounds, and disembowelments. But what really baffles one about these unimaginable atrocities is not just their level of organization and cruelty. Or in the sophistication of the weaponry used to carry out these murders. But rather, it is in the fact that the kind of national moral outrage one expects from such a state as Nigeria is nowhere to be found. Continue reading →

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August 26, 2015

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Terrorism

LEAHY LAW AND AI REPORT ON NIGERIA: DISTICTION AND PROPORTIONALITY IN THE ANTI TERROR OPERATION

Author: Elias Offor

A horrendous crime against humanity being committed daily by the Boko Haram terror group where casualty figures are quoted to near accuracy- a replication of what used to happen in distant lands that looked peculiar to a particular people and sounded like mere myths to the rest of us in a way that the mind is less troubled- is now a practical reality in our midst. Yet the horror and mind-bugling impact continues to recede to the extent, a mere tale of woe which in Shakespeare terms, are all sound and fury signifying nothing.   Continue reading →

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November 12, 2014

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International Law, National Criminal Law

Respecting Victims of Terrorism in Nigeria

Author: Tosin Osasona

If the Chinese proverb that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is right, then should pictures not be used more cautiously than words? When are nauseating images of gore and dead bodies’ offensive and when are they necessary? Has the mobile revolution moved death from the taboo closet that the African culture has kept it in for ages to the open? What is the effect of the repeated publication and circulation of graphic images on public consciousness? Is the dead entitled to the right to be treated with dignity? At what point do the dead stop being just mere news item and object of morbid fascination and become human? These and some other questions were thrown up by the images that surfaced after the Abuja bombing of April 14, 2014[i] and the recent school bombing in Potiskum, Nigeria.[ii] Continue reading →

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October 17, 2014

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International Criminal Justice

African National Bar Associations and the Promotion of International Criminal Justice in Africa

Author: Tosin Osasona

Bar associations and law societies are a critical component of legal institutions across the world and the same can be said of African bar associations and law societies. There are fifty-four distinct national lawyers associations in Africa, five regional lawyers association and a Pan-African Lawyers Union that serves as continental platform for lawyers’ guilds across the continent.[i] Some of these national organizations have a long history dating back to colonial period and have evolved over time reflecting the political and social cultures of their societies, so much that they have become an integral part of the legal process in public consciousness.[ii]  In fact, the legal profession in Africa has been labeled “the most dominant and the most influential profession.”[iii] Continue reading →