Governor Seyi Makinde's recent call for an international probe into the abduction of school pupils and teachers in Oyo State has drawn sharp criticism from the Presidency.

However, a similar demand was made over a decade ago by the then opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

On Monday, following the handover of the rescued teachers and pupils abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State by the Nigerian Army, Makinde urged international human rights organisations, including agencies within the United Nations system, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the abduction and its eventual resolution.

The governor said the call was aimed at strengthening public confidence and establishing the truth, rather than undermining Nigeria's institutions.

"I, therefore, with a full sense of responsibility as the Executive Governor of Oyo State, call on the appropriate international human rights organisations and accountability mechanisms, including those within the United Nations system, to closely examine the facts surrounding this abduction and the circumstances of its resolution.

"Such scrutiny is not intended to undermine our institutions; rather, it is intended to reinforce confidence, ensure that the truth is established, and that every person found to bear responsibility, regardless of office, influence or affiliation, is held accountable," Makinde said.

The Presidency swiftly dismissed the request, describing it as unnecessary and politically motivated.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused the governor of "playing the politics of the bizarre" and attempting to "weaponise" the incident through what he described as a conspiracy theory.

However, Makinde's appeal is not without precedent.

In April 2013, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), then led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the worsening insecurity in Nigeria.

The demand came after the killing of about 185 people in Baga, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.

In a statement issued by its then National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN accused the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan of failing to provide the leadership needed to halt the bloodshed across the country.

The party argued that the persistent killings reflected a failure of governance and declared that "the time has come to hold to account the leaders under whose watch these killings are being perpetrated."

The ACN also contended that the continued violence was partly because previous mass killings, including those in Odi and Zaki-Biam during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, were never punished.

It maintained that such acts could amount to crimes against humanity, one of the offences within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

 

 

 

The 2013 report is reproduced below:

Baga killings: Jonathan should face International Criminal Court – ACN

Following last Friday killing in Baga of 185 people, majority of who were women and children, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described the attacks on the civilian population as crimes against humanity, which it said should attract the attention of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to the party, the intervention of the ICC became necessary because the Federal Government has not demonstrated enough willingness to bring the masterminds of the killings to book.

It said the killings in the North, especially the latest at Baga, fall within the temporal jurisdiction of the global court.

In a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said far beyond the justifiable call for a judicial commission of inquiry into the massacre, the time has come to hold to account the leaders under whose watch these killings are being perpetrated.

The statement reads: “The killings in Baga, like previous ones in the areas where Boko Haram and the military Joint Task Force (JTF) have been engaged in clashes, are undoubtedly a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population – the definition of crimes against humanity, which is one of the four groups of crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

“Those engaged in the killings, including the Boko Haram sect, cannot and must not get away with these heinous crimes. The only reasons that the killing and maiming of innocent citizens have continued unabated in Nigeria is because such killings in the past, either in Odi, Bayelsa State, or in Zaki-Biam, Benue State, under the watch of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, went unpunished.

‘’Enough is enough! Even in countries at war, innocent citizens are not being daily mowed to death either by insurgents or state forces, as we are experiencing in Nigeria. It is clear that the Nigerian government is either unwilling or unable to prosecute these crimes, despite the deceptive assurances by those at the helm, hence the ICC must immediately beam its search-light on the situation in Nigeria.

‘’While we are aware that the killings in Odi and Zaki Biam occurred before July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute setting up the ICC came into force, the killings in the North, especially at Baga, fall within the temporal jurisdiction of the global court.”

The party blamed the Baga killings on President Goodluck Jonathan, who it accused of failing to distinguish between support for security agencies battling the insurgents in the North and the incitement of the same forces against civilians who are caught in the crossfire.