LEKKI: ICC can prosecute those who shot at unarmed protesters if… – Uwaifo
By Charles Kumolu, DEPUTY EDITOR
President of African Bar Association, AFBA, Mr. Hannibal Uwaifo, in this interview, speaks on conditions that could warrant the involvement of international bodies like the International Criminal Court, ICC, in getting justice for victims of Lekki shooting. He also looks at ongoing panels of inquiry across the states, saying they would not result in police reforms.
There are so many inconsistencies in the Lekki shooting narrative. With the varying accounts, would you have reasonable evidence to pursue the matter internationally?
The inconsistencies should be expected in this kind of situation, especially in Nigeria where truth is very scarce when public officers are accused of abuses. Having seen the horrible incident and the national and international outrage trailing it, the inconsistencies in the narratives of actors shouldn’t be a surprise.
What is important now is that the entire episode is in the public domain, and even international domain. If at the end of it all, government is unable to establish the truth, bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, African Bar Association, and Amnesty International would establish the truth. Government needs to understand that this is a very serious matter that should not be taken the way issues concerning Nigerians and their welfare have been treated with laxity over the years.
If you look at the way the protests were managed, you would realize that we are in a very big problem. How will a government allow protests to go on for nearly two weeks without any sign of abating and without having security knowledge that it could take a different dimension? How can a government fail to know that the protests could be hijacked by a fifth columnist, politicians and hoodlums?
It is unimaginable that they sat down and allowed the whole thing to go awry. In any part of the world, a protest that lasts that long is bound to be hijacked by vested interests. It is very clear to everyone that #EndSARS protesters were not responsible for the destruction that followed the Lekki shootings. Government is going to shoot itself in the foot if it does not come out with the truth. Protesters have the right to protest whether for 10 days or 20 days. It is the responsibility of government to provide security when such is happening.
If eventually it is officially established that soldiers actually shot at protesters, how does it constitute violations of rights that could give the international courts the jurisdiction to be involved in the matter?
#ENDSARS CLAMPDOWN: The police promoted officer accused of torturing someone to death — Aisha YesufuNigeria is a sovereign nation with different arms of government with the capacity of undertaking this task. Even if an international inquiry is carried out, the report has to go to the federal government by a way of advising. If the findings go to international bodies like the ICC, it is to see if the body can go after individuals who have committed the crime.
At the level of the African Bar Association, is an independent investigation into the matter going on?
Like every other responsible organisation, particularly in a matter that you were not physically present, we don’t jump to conclusion. For instance, we may know of 12 deaths and it eventually turns out to be 20.
We may know of six deaths and it turns out to be only two. The best thing to do at this time is to investigate the issue through many means. The panel of inquiry has commenced sitting. I can tell you that we are adequately represented there because the Chairman, AFBA Access to Justice and Judiciary Commission, Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa, is a member of that panel.
