As Nigeria continues to defend its territorial integrity against terrorist groups, the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ICC, has listed 10 possible cases it could press against Nigerian security forces and the three factions of insurgent groups operating under the popular name of Boko Haram.
The ICC prosecutor listed Nigeria among 11 countries being probed for alleged war and international human rights crimes in its end of the year report on preliminary examination activities.
Nigeria is among those in phase three of the investigation stages dealing with admissibility, which is the last stage before the conclusion of investigation under the ICC processes.
The report, dated December 5, 2019, explained that the office of the prosecutor has examined information regarding a wide range of crimes allegedly committed in Nigeria, since 2010.
According to the international prosecutor, Boko Haram and its leaders may have to answer for “targeted attacks against the civilian population; abductions and imprisonment of civilians, among others.
Other cases being investigated alongside that of Nigeria include those in Venezuela, Colombia, Guinea, Iraq/UK, Palestine, Republic of Philippines, Ukraine and Bangladesh/Myanmar.