#EndSARS: ICC Set To Investigate Nigeria’s Security Forces For ‘War Crimes’

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced that it will investigate Nigeria’s Security Forces over alleged crimes against humanity in the country.

ICC’s Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, made this known in a statement on Friday.

“While my Office recognises that the vast majority of criminality within the situation is attributable to non-state actors, we have also found a reasonable basis to believe that members of the Nigerian Security Forces (“NSF”) have committed the following acts constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes: murder, rape, torture, and cruel treatment; enforced disappearance; forcible transfer of population; outrages upon personal dignity; intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such and against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; unlawful imprisonment; conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces and using them to participate actively in hostilities; persecution on gender and political grounds; and other inhumane acts.

“These allegations are also sufficiently grave to warrant investigation by my Office, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. My Office will provide further details in our forthcoming annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities.

“Moving forward, the next step will be to request authorisation from the Judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court to open investigations,” she stated.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that the ICC had on October 22, beamed its searchlight on the unfolding events associated with the alleged shooting of EndSARS protesters in parts of the country.

The Prosecutor’s office among other things,  “conducts independent and impartial preliminary examinations, investigations and prosecutions of the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.”