ICC should investigate Benue State killings, SERAP tells Tinubu

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently refer the situation in Benue State to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation into the violence, unlawful killings, and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

SERAP believed that referring the Benue situation to the ICC would demonstrate Tinubu’s commitment to combating human rights crises in the state and ensure accountability for grave human rights crimes.

In their statement made available to The Mirror, they noted that the Benue State crisis has been described as a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits,” according to Professor James Ayatse, the Tor Tiv and the state’s paramount ruler.

SERAP’s demand for ICC intervention is based on the notion that the Tinubu administration has a primary responsibility to ensure accountability, justice, and reparations for victims of human rights crimes.

By referring the situation to Nigeria’s ICC, the government would be taking a crucial step towards achieving its commitment to “hunt down the perpetrators of the attacks and bring them to justice, deliver justice for victims and restore peace in the state”.

The ICC’s jurisdiction extends to individuals in the highest political or military leadership who may be complicit in crimes, including those immune from domestic prosecution.

The referral of the Benue situation to the ICC would bring the situation to the attention of the Prosecutor to determine whether human rights and international crimes have been committed and to identify those most responsible.

SERAP also urged President Tinubu to consider referring to the situation in other states experiencing similar violence or requesting the ICC prosecutor to extend current investigations to cover those situations.