ICC Engaging “in political games with victims of atrocity”: Christian Leaders in Nigeria

“With all due respect to Mr. Khan, his statement and conduct since coming to office present him as a Prosecutor seeking to shirk his responsibilities for investigating and prosecuting international crimes in Nigeria,” they say. 

The Christian leaders who include representatives of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) add that Mr. Khan “comes across as trying to avoid providing a modicum of satisfaction to the thousands upon thousands of victims in our country’s long running tragedy of murder and mayhem, exacerbated by governmental indifference, negligence and possibly even complicity.”

They say that Mr. Khan’s statement speaks of nothing that his office has done since December 2020 when the former prosecutor said the ICC's preliminary investigations of Nigeria met the statutory criteria for opening an investigation into the situation in the country. 

The former ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, reportedly said that members of the Nigerian Security Forces (NSF) and Boko Haram had committed crimes against humanity.

Mrs. Bensouda indicated that the Nigerian authorities had been inactive in investigating the crimes. She added that the preliminary findings met the statutory requirements for opening investigation into the situation in Nigeria.

In his statement after his first official visit to Nigeria, Mr. Khan said investigation into the Nigerian crimes can only be achieved through cooperation with government and other stakeholders. 

In the May 9 statement, CAN officials say they have "the spectacle of Mr. Khan showing up in Nigeria trying to revive his predecessor’s failed attempts to get Nigeria to meet its complementary obligations."

They also accuse Mr. Khan and his predecessor of colluding with the government of Nigeria to use the principle of complementarity to deny justice to the victims of religious and other violence in Africa’s most populous nation.  

Following his visit to the West African nation, Mr. Khan’s statement "tells us nothing about what he and his Office have done on Nigeria since December 2020, possibly because they have done absolutely nothing," CAN representatives say. 

They pose, “Where is the application to the Pre Trial-Chamber to open an investigation? How is it that Mr. Khan has been willing to leap-frog the situations of the Philippines and Venezuela over Nigeria, applying for leave to the Court’s judges to open investigations?"

The Christian leaders say the prosecutor's statement shows his laxed approach to Nigeria’s situation.

They add that while Mr. Khan’s statement indicates willingness to consider the terrorism in the Sahel region, he should not suggest that the regional situation be referred to the Court by the Security Council when he ignores the issues in Nigeria. 

“It is ironic that Mr. Khan and his Office appear to have resources for a Security Council referral of the Sahel situation, but not for Nigeria,” CAN officials say. 

They add, “We have seen that the Islamist violence in Nigeria is indeed linked to what is going on in other countries, and there is a snowball effect going on," the representatives of church leaders in Nigeria say. 

They add that the Prosecutor "cannot suggest that the wider Sahel situation be referred to the Court by the Security Council when in Nigeria he and his Office ignore the religious mayhem being unleashed by armed Fulani herdsmen and Islamist bandits, and minimize the nature and scale of the religious persecution of Christians committed by Boko Haram."

(Story continues below)

The Christian leaders also accuse the ICC Prosecutor of lacking transparency in investigating crimes in Nigeria.

They say in reference to the Prosecutor’s report in his Nigerian visit, “The statement makes vague references to a formal agreement that the government of Nigeria and the Office of the Prosecutor are discussing. What is this about? Why are they not being open and transparent?”

In spite of their "deep disappointment" with the ICC Prosecutor, CAN officials say they remain committed to the search for justice and redress for persecuted and brutalized Christians in Nigeria. 

"We continue to be willing to engage with Mr. Khan and his Office," they say in their May 9 statement.