Petition to the UNSC. Re: Buhari at the ICC Hq. Compromising the Integrity and Impartiality of the International Criminal Court, Its Processes and Procedures

The President

United Nations Security Council

UN Plaza

New York.

Dear Sir,

Compromising the integrity and impartiality of the International Criminal Court, its processes and procedures:

Re: Petition against the invitation to and high level reception at events marking the 20^th anniversary celebrations of the Rome statute of the head of a government (Nigerian ruler, President Muhammadu Buhari) subject to active investigations and likely prosecution by the Institutions and Authorities of the ICC.

We are attorneys based in Nigeria and are very conversant with the matters over which we now petition your Office.

Sequel to the powers conferred on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court under Article 5(1) of the Rome Statute, investigations were initiated into several atrocities within the jurisdiction of the ICC, committed by and or under the supervision and authority of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Some of the matters being investigated by the Office of The Prosecutor of the ICC (OTP) include the following:

1. The December 2015 extra-judicial mass killings and burials of over One Thousand members of the Shiite Islamic sect (under the auspices of Islamic Movement of Nigeria) by Nigerian soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State (North central Nigeria);

2. The various torture, attacks and extra-judicial mass killings and burials of members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) by various national land regional security agencies across the Southern and Eastern regions of Nigeria.

Sequel to its active investigations into the situations in Nigeria, The OTP-ICC has communicated some of its preliminary findings which acknowledged violation of international statutes and human rights principles to the Nigerian Government, via it’s correspondences with the office of the Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.  

The Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has publicly acknowledged the continuing investigations by the OTP-ICC into various matters in Nigeria.

Following the ICC investigations, the peoples and groups who had suffered immeasurably from the atrocities being investigated by the OTP-ICC and the Nigerian populace in general felt assured that there would, at the very least, be some measure of international accountability for the various mass atrocities that was beginning to assume the status of societal norms in present day Nigeria. 

It was under this sense of hope that Nigerians were stunned at the announcement, barely 48 hours to the epic of events commemorating the 20^th Anniversary of the Rome Statute of the ICC, that the Nigerian ruler, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari, had been invited as a Guest Speaker to ‘The Solemn Hearing of the ICC’.

Rtd. Gen. Buhari did indeed attend and make a presentation as the Guest Speaker at the said Solemn Hearing of the ICC, in the Chamber of the ICC, the Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, 17^th July 208

In an apparent effort to rub-in the pains of the insult (felt by the victims of mass atrocities in Nigeria under the regime of Retired General Buhari) of an invitation from the ICC to a man who the victims of the atrocities considered the arrow head of the regime which continues to inflict and perpetuate mass atrocities, Buhari’s spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, issued a Press Release stating inter alia: “He is the only Head of State invited to the ICC’s 20^th anniversary and senior Nigerian officials see it as a positive recognition and appreciation of Nigeria’s support to the ideals and objectives of the Court”.

In a most outlandish deployment of the ICC invitation extended to Retired General Buhari, a Nigerian Federal Lawmaker, Abdulmuminu Jubril averred, in a widely publicized interview in Nigeria, that the invite to Buhari was in acknowledgement of Buhari’s integrity and high status. Mr. Jubril stated thus:  “Few weeks ago, the president was in ICC as part of all he has done fighting corruption in this country from when he was a young military officer till date. And when he was there, I met a senior diplomat in one of the developed countries and I asked him a question, how can Nigeria president, an African president from Nigeria is the only president in the history of the ICC that has ever been invited to make such presentation. And he said to me, he showed me about a 100-page document that was carried out, collaborative exercise by security agencies across about twenty European and the Americans..ermh, the United States of America and this is lying down on the desk of a lot of embassies and presidents all around the country. And this security exercise was done on about thirty serving and former Africa Heads of state. Only president Buhari achieved the highest indices of integrity which they called XXXX1. Only President Muhammdu Buhari achieved that. And I got that document, read that document; I was shocked, almost moved to tear”.

The expected cumulative effect of the presence of Buhari as a Guest Speaker at the 20^th anniversary Solemn Hearing of the ICC in the hallowed and revered Chambers of the ICC is two-fold:

(i)  Firstly, it destroys whatsoever hopes the immediate victims of mass atrocities perpetuated by the Buhari-led regime might have nurtured in the ICC as an international arbiter and unbiased venue to seek justice for mass atrocities and crimes against humanity.

(ii) Secondly, and perhaps more weightily, it raises the likelihood that the OTP-ICC and perhaps the Presidency and Justices of the ICC can be, or might have been, compromised by undue interaction with a subject under investigation. Other countries, particularly in the African continent, where there has been a resurgence of questions as to the likelihood of bias of the ICC and its procedures in the continent, might now feel justified, by the invite to, visit and elaborate reception accorded to the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. General Buhari, to reconsider their countries continued membership of the ICC.

The presence of Rtd. Gen. Buhari at the ICC’s 20^th anniversary commemorations and the continuing familiarity to the ICC being portrayed by Nigerian Government officials squarely come within the purview of acts cited in Articles 42(5) and 46 of the Rome Statute, requiring urgent and strict measures to restore and retain the credibility of the ICC and its processes.

Increased impunity

Resulting from the supposed ‘endorsement’ accorded the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. Gen. Buhari, by the ICC, there has been palpable increasing acts of impunity which is adversely impacting on the human right situation and Rule of Law environment in Nigeria. Of particular note is the blockade on the residences of the leadership of the Nigerian Parliament, the attempted coup against the Nigerian National Assembly and increasing spate of brutality on the civil populace by law enforcement agencies.

There is the likelihood that if immediate and expedient action is not taken to distance the ICC and its institutions from the semblance of having ‘endorsed’ the ‘integrity’ and ‘human rights’ situation in Nigeria, more atrocities will be unleashed on the peoples of Nigeria.

Request:

It is in view of the foregoing that we urge your goodself, in exercise of your implied supervisory functions entered into under Article 2 of the Rome Statute, to inquire into the mechanisms, practices and operational modalities of the ICC, with particular reference to the Presidency and Justices of the ICC, on the one hand, and the Office of The Prosecutor on the other, and their various interactions with persons, entities  and Governments subject to ICC investigations and likely prosecution by the ICC, with particular reference to their interactions with the Nigerian ruler, Rtd. Gen. Buhari.

Considering the notoriety of the Nigerian State with regards to corruption issues, the continuing and increasing interactions and familiarizations between the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian ruler (which are subject of ICC investigations) and the Presidency, Justices and Prosecutor of the ICC, objective observers will have no other choice than to conclude that the improper interactions might lead to obscuring and or obviating the cause of justice for not only the victims of mass atrocities and crimes against humanity perpetuated by the regime in Nigeria, but also directly negatively impact on the independence and erstwhile respect the ICC enjoyed internationally, and more particularly, in the African continent.

In anticipation of your expedient interventions, we remain,

Your truly,

For: Eze Eluchie & Associates

Eze Eluchie, Esq.

Attorney.

Convener, Colloquium on Genocides, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.

Cc:

1. The President, International Criminal Court

2. The Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court

3. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on Prevention of Genocides

3. Michael Frost, The UN Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Right Defenders

Pix: Nigerian ruler, Rtd. General Buhari with the President and Justices of the International Criminal Court, The Hague, The Netherlands, after delivering his presentation at the 20th anniversary m Hearing. 7th July 2018

Buhari at the ICC: Desecrating the International Humans Right System.

by Eze Eluchie

The crowning event of the 20^th anniversary commemorations of the coming into force of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court (ICC) was unwittingly turned into the fall from lofty heights of the ICC with the calibre of person who was invited to stain the hallowed walkways and chambers of the erstwhile reputable institution.

When the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court adopted the Rome Statute on the 17^th of July 1998, there had been universal celebration and expectations that the immunity tyrants across the world accorded themselves for hurts and crimes they commit within their territories would be brought to an end by the internationalization of responsibilities, jurisdiction and consequences for atrocities no matter where committed and by whosoever. The mandate of the ICC established under the Rome Statute gave the ICC wide ranging powers to investigate, prosecute and punish persons, no matter what positions they occupy, who commit specified vile and heinous crimes, such as Genocides, Crimes against humanity, and other mass atrocities.

In keeping with its mandate and to the admiration of all lovers of humanity, the ICC undertook laudable interventions to hold perpetrators of mass atrocities in Congo DRC, Darfur, Sudan and Kenya, amongst other countries, to account. It was also expected that with multiple and widespread cases of well orchestrated and organized acts of mass atrocities being witnessed across the globe in such diverse territories as Syria, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Venezuela, Uganda, Congo DRC., North Korea amongst others, that the 20^th anniversary of the Rome Statute will serve to create renewed impetus and vigour to energize the ICC establishment to effectively pursue and actualize its mandate.  

With an announcement which jolted the International Human Rights community and was obviously made to mock efforts at ensuring accountability for the various atrocities committed by it and launder the image of the increasingly despotic and anti-democratic regime, the Government of Nigeria announced that the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari had been ‘invited’ by the ICC to be a Guest Speaker at events commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the Rome Statute.

The shock of the announcement, which was made barely 48 hours to the event, was palpable across the world and caught activists worldwide flat-footed, as there was little to no time to effectively react to what was clearly a most unthought out gaffe by the ICC. The announcement coming a few weeks after the Nigerian Attorney General had announced that the Nigerian government was under active investigations by the ICC, on account of several atrocities committed in the course of the current governments existence, was to say the least, quite shocking and gave rise to suspicions that untoward and spurious ‘arrangements’ might have been effected to ensure and secure the ‘invite’.

The invite automatically stimulates a plethora of questions: The Head of a government under several active and ongoing investigations by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, being invited to speak at the ICC?  A Muhammadu Buhari under whose tenure over a thousand Shiite Muslims were slaughtered in Zaria (Kaduna State, North-Central Nigeria), under flimsy pretexts? the Muhammadu Buhari under whose command unarmed pro-Biafra protesters were mowed down by soldiers in Aba (Abia State, South-Eastern Nigeria); A Muhammadu Buhari who has repeatedly asked the victims of ethnic cleansing being perpetuated by Herdsmen to go back and co-habit/accommodate their killers whilst his soldiers looked the other way as the atrocities were being committed?; A Muhammadu Buhari who had confessed to partaking in the Biafra genocide where over 2 million persons had been killed? The same Muhammadu Buhari whose ‘law enforcement’ officials are framing up opposition politicians and embarking on intense witch-hunting exercises to targeted segments of the Nigerian population?; and a plethora of other minuses. And this is the character that the ICC found worthy to grace and speak at the 20^th anniversary commemorations of the Rome Statute?

Other germane questions now ensuing include: Why was Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, hounded with relish by the ICC despite clear evidence that the entire prosecution was a fabrication of external elements distant from Kenya? Was the pursuit of Libya’s Saif al-Islam Ghadaffi and Cote D’Ivoire’s Laurent Gbagbo by the ICC based on non-altruistic considerations? What really did Sudanese ruler, Omar al-Bashir commit to deserve the ICC’s ire that the ‘invited speaker’ at the ICC 20^th anniversary has not surpassed? Were those being ‘investigated’ and ‘prosecuted’ by the ICC unable to meet up with some other thrifty considerations which the Nigerian ruler easily met, to warrant the unfortunate invitation, rather than formal arrest and prosecution?

If a Buhari could have been invited to speak, why not Omar al-Bashir?

One begins to wonder if ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda and the Justices of the ICC did not feel the sticky wetness of congealed blood of innocents as they shook hands with Buhari whilst welcoming him to the ICC Headquarters in The Hague. As Buhari’s mostly incoherent ramblings filled the Chambers of the ICC during his presentations, did the audience not hear the eerie whisper of the voice of the thousands of innocent victims who were forcefully translated to the great beyond under Buhari’s watch and rulership?

It is such actions, as the invitation extended to a fascist ruler to hobnob with authorities and instruments meant to advance the course of international human rights and justice, which justify the withdrawal of the United States from erstwhile pivotal agencies for the advancement of human rights and justice such as the United Nations Human Rights Council.  

The International Criminal Justice system took a deep cut when the Nigerian ruler was admitted to the Chambers of the ICC, not as a suspect undergoing trial but as a ‘speaker’.  It is highly contestable whether the system will survive such a fundamental assault. A thorough cleansing of the now jaundiced system is required – a truly sad day for international human rights, Justice and Humanity generally.

Picture: Nigeria’s ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, delivering his speech at the ICC on 17^th July 2019

The US & Her Allies: The Dog Refuses to be Wagged by its Tail.

by Eze Eluchie,

The scenario had been often repeated: relatively less endowed countries will deliberately provoke a crisis, fully conscious of the fact that their success can only be guaranteed if Big Brother gets involved in the crisis. Big Brother gets goaded to take up the crisis as its own and the less endowed states merely contribute peripheral resources towards addressing the crisis – a situation commonly known as ‘the tail wagging the dog scenario’. All manners of adjectives have been coined (such as ‘special relationship’, ‘shared fundamental values’ and ‘Blood Allies’) to cajole Big Brother to continue in this very expensive vocation - a vocation that leaves Big Brother lagging behind its allies in virtually all facets of societal advancement – from academics, citizen social welfare programs, public infrastructure and general quality of life.

Over the years, the United States has found itself routinely led into conflicts in which it clearly had non-defined goals nor identifiable gains, save for the fact that its ‘allies’ had urged it on and convinced it that there was a threat to the ‘shared interests’ – the brutal murder and consequent destruction of Libya initiated by the United kingdom and France, into which the US was dragged into typifies this situation. 

The above graphic illustration expresses the relationship between the United States of America and its so-called special allies – Western European countries, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Well, that was the situation till the emergence of Donald Trump as the 45^th President of the United States.

Having rode into office on an unambiguous promise to prioritize America’s interest (with the slogan ‘America First’), Trump started off his stay in office with clear signs of his intentions to abide with a clearly Americacentric stance that does not recognize any ‘special relationship status’, or ‘allies’ except with the American people and American interests. The shock withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change sent shock waves across the world which clearly did not sink in the message down enough to those who had considered themselves as ‘special allies’, as they continued to act in a condescending manner believing that they will eventually ‘curb’ the excesses of POTUS.

To curb Trump’s ‘America First’ appetite and ensure the ‘special relationship’ amongst allies, the allies appear to have crafted ingenious arrangements to ensure continuing US involvement in global affairs. A few days after the Trump administration had announced its intention to withdraw US troops in Syria, a chemical weapon attack was ‘announced’, and in a move unheralded in the annals of international military coalition efforts, targeted punitive military strikes were coordinated against Syria, long before an investigation team had been empanelled to look into the allegations. The ‘America First’ resolve had been put to test, and appeared to have wavered.

In like manner, an ‘attempted murder by military-grade nerve agent poisoning’ was drummed up – and as was the case with the alleged Syrian chemical weapon attack, without tangible evidence, a perpetrator was ‘named’ and the US was, again, steamrolled into engaging in diplomatic missives to ensure it was in tune with its ‘allies’ and special status friends.

The successes with the Syrian chemical weapon and Salisbury stories fooled the European allies into thinking that despite his public brashness and boisterous nature, US President, Donald Trump can be made to easily tow the old generous benefactor/Big-Brother stance the US had become used to. This cock-sure attitude of the European allies gave rise to such ridiculous happenings as the French President, prior to a visit to the US, publicly boasted of his ability to get Trump to change his stance on the Iran Nuclear Agreement (the JCPoA) and on Trade Tariffs. Boy, Macron and the allies were in for the shock of their lives.

As the long scheduled G-7 meetings in Canada approached, it dawned on all that the once close-knit blood allies were headed for a make-or-mar summit that would crystallize the role of the US as ever reliable ‘Big Brother’ who was ever ready to pick up his allies bills or make it explicit to the allies that there was a new kid-in-the-block who truly meant his words when he says ‘America First’.

US Government announcement of imposition of tariff on steel and alumina products from its allies (Canada, Mexico, the EU States and Japan amongst others), a few weeks to the Canada G-7 meet where there would be a face-to-face meeting with the leaders of the allies made it clear to all but the discerning that Trump was not joking when he says ‘America First’. Verbal missiles were already flying between Big Brother and the allies as the dates for the Summit approached.  

To add fodder to the schism between the US and other G-7 member States, POTUS prior to departing for the summit, floated the idea of readmitting Russia to the fold – a suggestion that was immediately rebuffed by other European G-7 countries. The divergence between POTUS and other G-7 leaders were palpable and some media outfits reported the likelihood of fisticuffs if sufficient distance was not maintained between the leaders.

The Canada G-7 summit has come and gone, the rest as the saying goes is history. The US came out of that summit clearly notifying its allies that the days when it served as the local piggy bank which all and sundry fleeced at will had passed and all must bear their own portion of responsibilities.

The effect of the stance now adopted by the US is bound to restructure global order and signal critical shifts in inter-State relationships, particularly in the areas of global economic and political order.

The continuing inability and or unwillingness of political leaders in the African continent to leverage on the changing dynamics in the relationship between the US and its allies to chart new parts that will ease the shackles of underdevelopment for their various countries continue to baffle and amaze.

As Americans continue to applaud and appreciate the Trump administration particularly for its positive effect on US economy, with an ever increasing likelihood of a second tenure assured, there appears to be yet more time for the impact of ‘America First’ philosophy to sink in and countries across the world to adjust to the new realities unfolded by a global super-power focused on primarily advancing its own interests and which refuses for its junior allies to control her or to be waged by its tail.

Picture: President Donald Trump surrounded by other G-7 leaders (Angela Merkel of Germany, Theresa may of the UK, Emmanuel Macron of France, Shizo Abe of Japan and their aides), who appeared perplexed and helpless by the position taken by the US on various issues.