The International Criminal Court
(ICC) says despite the trials of Boko Haram suspects by the Nigerian
government, there are limited number of cases against high-level Boko Haram
commanders in Nigeria
This was revealed in the annual
report of ICC activities for 2018 presented by Fatou Bensouda, lead prosecutor
of the ICC, at The Hague, Netherlands.
According to the report, the
development seems to be related to the fact that top commanders of Boko Haram
have yet to be apprehended or were killed during military operations.
“Despite the fact that the
Nigerian authorities are conducting trials, it appears that at this stage,
there is a limited number of cases against high and mid-level Boko Haram
commanders. This seems to be related to the fact that top commanders have yet
to be apprehended or were killed during military operations,” the report read.
“Nonetheless, the trial of Kabiru
Umar, a mid-level Boko Haram commander was successfully concluded in December
2013 and the trial of Mohammed Usman (aka Khalid al-Barnawi), a former
high-level Boko Haram commander and subsequent leader of the break-away faction
Ansaru commenced in March 2017. The charges in both of these high-profile cases
however, appear to be unrelated to the potential cases identified by the Office.
“Military prosecutions have
focused so far on individual cases of low ranking soldiers charged under the
AFA, and failed to address the contextual elements of crimes against humanity
or war crimes identified by the Office.
“Since October 2017, the Nigerian
authorities initiated three rounds of mass trials before special courts of the
Federal High Court (“FHC”) in Kainji, Niger State, to process thousands of Boko
Haram suspects held in military detention in Kainji. Such trials took place in
October 2017, February 2018 and July 2018 during which most of the 1,669 Boko
Haram suspects detained in Kainji were tried.
“It appears from the information
available that the majority of defendants were discharged without trial for
lack of evidence. Further, the great majority of the more than 360 persons
convicted in these trials were charged with providing material and non-violent
support to Boko Haram. Several observers also raised fair trial and due process
concerns with respect to the Kainji trials.”
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