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ABUJA, Nigeria —The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has called on the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, to halt the prolonged probe of the Nigerian military.
The AGF said this in a statement made available to the media in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Kamarudeen Ogundele.
According to the statement, the AGF stated that Nigeria at the global stage had demonstrated the will to promote justice and end terrorism among other global crimes.
The AGF, while expressing the country’s commitment to confronting impunity, holding perpetrators of heinous crimes accountable, and restoring justice for victims, said the preliminary examination into alleged crimes in Nigeria had lasted 14 years and was demoralising to the service men laying their lives to defend their country against terrorists.
He affirmed that Nigeria, as a responsible state party to the Rome Statute, had consistently engaged with the Office of the Prosecutor and demonstrated its military’s adherence to international humanitarian law and ensuring accountability for any personnel found guilty of misconduct.
According to him, “While we respect the court’s mandate to intervene when states are unable or unwilling to prosecute such crimes, it is important to emphasise that there must be respect and regard to the principle of complementarity. The ICC is meant to act as a court of last resort, intervening only when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to address grave crimes. I must assert that Nigeria does not fall under any such situation. Our nation has consistently demonstrated both the will and the capacity to investigate and prosecute serious crimes, including those committed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. We are proud of the Nigerian military, which has systems and structures in place to ensure their operations are guided by international humanitarian law and human rights principles.
“At the 22nd Session of this Assembly, Nigeria reported the establishment of an independent Special Investigative Panel by the National Human Rights Commission to address allegations against the Nigerian military made by Reuters. After thorough investigations spanning eight months, the panel found no evidence to substantiate these claims. The allegations of killings, torture, and the recruitment of underage fighters have been proven to be false and exaggerated.
“Indeed, the work of the panel and acceptance of its recommendations by the government clearly indicates that Nigeria has the political will to investigate allegations of heinous crimes and hold violators accountable.
“The conduct of military operations during conflict is regulated by international humanitarian law, and we can assure this Assembly that the Nigerian military does not engage in arbitrary killings or inhumane treatment of those no longer directly participating in hostilities. Our military ensures that captured combatants are treated with dignity and respect. While inadvertent mistakes or errors of judgment may occur in the chaos of conflict, these are promptly investigated by impartial commissions and panels. I wish to state that Nigeria has a well-established and functional court martial system for holding erring officers accountable. We also employ restorative justice measures, including compensation, when appropriate.
“In addition, Nigeria’s six-month Demobilization, Deradicalization, and Reintegration programme has successfully reintegrated 4,000 former Boko Haram combatants into society. We continue to prioritise the training and re-training of our armed forces, ensuring that human rights and international humanitarian law remain at the forefront of our military operations, with a focus on the protection of civilian protection.”
“We are also concerned about activities of apologists of terrorist groups, parading as civil society organisations, who are continuously making unsubstantiated allegations in order to undermine legitimate efforts of the Nigerian Armed Forces,” he added.
Fagbemi, called on all States Parties to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions, as the use of cluster munitions continues to cause widespread suffering and hinders peace-building and humanitarian efforts.
“Nigeria stands firm with fellow State Parties in the shared commitment to ending impunity for the world’s most serious crimes. We fully support the work of the ICC and encourage those States Parties yet to accede to the Rome Statute to do so,” he added.
