SERAP asks ICC Prosecutor to probe alleged crimes against humanity in Jos

A civil society group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, The Netherlands requesting him to use his position “to investigate allegations of unlawful killing of at least 326 people and perpetration of other crimes under international law during the violence this month in Jos, Plateau State of Nigeria; and the reports that the military and police used excessive force against both Christians and Muslims in responding to the violence.” In a petition dated 29 January, 2010 and sent to Mr Ocampo by Solicitor to SERAP, Mr Femi Falana, the group said that “Nigeria is a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and deposited its instrument of ratification on 27 September 2001.” According to Falana, “the Plateau State Police Command said that at least 326 people were killed during the violence. Tens of thousands are displaced, and denied access to humanitarian assistance and basic necessities of life such as food and medical care. Many have not been assisted to return to their homes and land, or provided with alternative accommodation.”
“The latest violation of international law in Jos is coming just after the apparently unlawful killings of more than 700 people that followed the Boko Haram crisis last year. Inter-communal, political, and sectarian violence have claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people, including women and children, during the past 10 years,” the group added. The group also said that, “Those who are suspected to be responsible for the latest violence and previous outbreaks of deadly violence in Jos have not been arrested let alone brought to justice because the government has shown itself to be too weak to act, contrary to its international legal obligations, including under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The government usually response to outbreaks of violence in many parts of the country by setting up commissions of inquiry, but few of them have ever published their reports, and even when they have, their recommendations have rarely been acted upon or led to prosecutions.”

Ibori moves to strike out London case

As was widely expected, lawyers to James Ibori and his associates in the UK have now moved to strike out the money-laundering charges against associates of the former Delta State governor at the Southwark Crown Court in London. At the first mention today, the judge handling the case gave directives for a full hearing scheduled for Monday and Tuesday next week, the 25th and 26th of January 2010. Ibori is asking the judge to quash the charges against his associates and wife because the case against him at the Federal High Court in Asaba has collapsed, and the case in London should follow suit as a consequence. In detailed reports, Saharareporters had revealed how the former Chief Judge of Nigeria, Justice Abdullahi Mustapha, the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Michael Aondokaa as well as a judge of the federal court of appeal, Justice Amina Adamu Augie colluded with Ibori to set up a high court in Asaba paid for by the Delta State government and staffed by Ibori. The judge in the case Justice Mercel Awokulehin was paid $5 million to quash the case. The course of the new motion tallies with the plan of Nigeria’s Attorney General, Aondoakaa and James Ibori, to frustrate all manners of criminal charges brought against Ibori in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. In recent months, Ibori had also hired a British Member of Parliament, Tony Baldry, a lawyer by profession but a politician and businessman with extensive business interests in Africa, to interfere in the case within the British judicial system. In September 2009, Mr. Baldry wrote scathing letters to the office of the Attorney General in the UK excoriating the office for engaging in the trail of Ibori and his associates in London, conveying the impression Ibori is being persecuted, not prosecuted.

Statement on developments with the Ibori trial at Asaba, Nigeria and the adjournment of the case against his associates at Southwark Crown Court

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, Respect Nigerians Coalition as an organization believes in the inviolable principle of civilized justice, which states that every accused person is innocent until proven guilty. So, on that basis, we have no case against James Ibori, the former Governor of Delta State and his sister and associates on trial in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, because, as far as we know, they are yet to be convicted of any offence. However, we do have serious reservations about how the case against Ibori is being conducted in Asaba, Nigeria. We have followed the case closely and strongly believe that it is a sad example of how a case should not be prosecuted, defended or adjudicated.As citizens and stakeholders in the wellbeing of our nation, we, like most Nigerians, feel very strongly about the issue of political or public sector corruption and the obvious harm it’s done and is still doing to our body politic. Indeed, it is something that hardworking and law-abiding citizens of every nation must take seriously. For instance, figures released by the United Nations just a few days ago indicate that political corruption costs countries as much as £951 billion ($1.6 trillion) every year! It is nothing short of crime against humanity, because it not only kills development, it kills people en mass! As defenders of the integrity of Nigeria and Nigerians, be they at home or abroad, we believe that such a disease that has blighted the life of our nation so terribly must be fought to a standstill in any forum.

Our country will rise above the present rot!-Nuhu Ribadu

The conviction of Chief Olabode George, former Chairman Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), and four other board members, today at the court of Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole, in Ikeja Lagos, marks another great reference point in the investigation, prosecution, and trial of corruption cases in Nigeria. This is in keeping with the foundation philosophy upon which the EFCC was built at origin.
I salute the courage and intellect of the learned judge who has demonstrated over time that he offers an exemplary model in the fight against corruption and for a true definition of rule of law in the country. This occasion therefore affords us the opportunity to salute other judges in the country that have done well in advancing our jurisprudence on corruption and justice. As is very well known, the successful resolution of cases in favor of justice and equity commence from a thorough investigation and diligent prosecution. In this regard, we must also salute the long and strained investigation leading to the indictment of Bode George in 2005. At moments like this, investigators and prosecutors, stretched out in exhilarating adrenalin, are rightly thrilled that their hard work is rewarded by the society and its best institutions. It is however a measure of our present national dilemma that Chief George could later sue some newspapers for libel on account of the damning indictment report I prepared against him. Nevertheless, his subsequent conviction is evidence that ultimately the law catches up with the bad guys, however long it might take.

APO SIX:A Brutal Legacy of Police Impunity

Civil rights groups, led by Access to Justice, today in Abuja marked the 4th anniversary of the pre-mediated killing of 6 Nigerian youths by officers of the Nigeria Police Force in what has come to be known as the “Apo Six”.The groups also used the occasion to highlight the desperate attempt by the Police Force to hide the truth of the dastardly murder of the youth who were in their prime. Gory details of the findings by the Federal Government Commission of inquiry, headed by Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, led to the prosecution of the officers involved in the extra judicial murder. Four years later, however, the police personnel identified by the Commission as having been directly involved in the murder of the youths are still undergoing a shame of a prosecution, while the former Garki Police Station Divisional Police Officer at that time, Mr. Othman Abdulsalam, escaped from police custody and is unaccounted for. Another suspect, DSP Danjuma, remains in service and continues to draw a salary. He even has a detachment of Police officers guarding his residence at the Wuse II District of Abuja.