SERAP tasks ICC on Plateau killings as minister, service chiefs visit 

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Karim Khan, to urgently issue a formal ‘preventative statement’ regarding the ongoing killing of citizens, including children, and other violations of international law in Plateau State.

It also charged him to undertake a preliminary examination of the situation.

The group implored Khan to visit Plateau to “show the commitment by your office to deliver meaningful accountability and justice for victims of the Plateau attacks, and to deploy resources from the Trust Fund that your office has established to ensure access of victims to effective remedies, including reparations.”

Over 190 people were reportedly killed, hundreds injured and several others missing due to recent violence in the state.

In a letter signed at the weekend by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said: “Your urgent intervention would reassure victims and their families that they would receive effective remedies including reparations.

“It would serve to deter further violations and address the prevailing culture of impunity for such crimes across the country. It is the impunity of perpetrators and their sponsors that continues to fuel these human rights crimes.”

The organisation noted that there “is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes under international law and within the jurisdiction of the ICC have been committed in the ongoing violence in Plateau State.”

It continued: “These allegations are also sufficiently grave to warrant a formal statement and preliminary examination by your office.

“Your intervention in the situation in Plateau State would demonstrate your oft-repeated promise to strengthen the rule of law at the international level to the benefit of everyone.

“The focus on victims provided for in the Rome Statute creates an important platform for advancing human rights in Plateau State through the ICC.”

The group advised the prosecutor to revisit and adopt effective practice of issuing ‘preventative statements’ to discourage those who perpetrate these grave violations, knowing full well that they would face justice.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle and the service chiefs, yesterday, visited Plateau shortly after a renewed attack.

The visit came hours after assailants killed no fewer than two persons, including a father and son, in a fresh onslaught in Bokkos Local Council of the state.

Accompanied by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, the Nigerian Air Force plane, covering the team, touched ground at the Yakubu Gowon Airport helipad by 10:10 am.

Thereafter, Matawalle took salutes from military officials.

The service chiefs included Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hassan Abubakar.

The North Central state has been attacked twice within a week. In the first attack on December 24, over 190 persons were killed while marking Christmas Eve in Bokkos and Barkin-Ladi council areas.

Regarding the fresh one, Transition Implementation Committee chairman, Markus Nyam, confirmed to newsmen that the attackers invaded the village on Saturday night and killed a father and son.

He also said vigilantes eliminated one of the attackers in a duel, while others fled.

The chairman added that the quick response of the Joint Security Task Force Operation Safe Haven personnel equally averted more damage.