Amnesty International submitted on Monday a petition to the Pre-Trial Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requesting an end to the ICC Prosecutor’s delay in starting the court’s investigation against Nigeria.

Amnesty International submitted the request on behalf of victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in northeast Nigeria. These individuals are part of 11 social networks called the Jire Dole Networks initiated in 2017. In the letter, Amnesty International claims that the failure of the ICC Prosecutor to request to open an investigation into the situation in Nigeria goes against Article 15(3) of the Rome Statute. Isa Sanusi, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria urges the situation shall not be forgotten by the ICC. Sanusi said, “Victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Nigeria are as entitled to justice as victims of crimes under international law elsewhere.” This occurs as ICC Prosecutors have delayed the initiation of investigations for almost four years now.

The ICC Prosecutor initiated the preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria in 2010. Ten years later, Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda concluded the preliminary examination, arguing all criteria for opening an investigation had been met. At the same time, the Prosecutor issued reasons for the lengthy preliminary examination process. One of the reasons was that priority was given to domestic investigation and prosecution of these crimes. Moreover, Bensouda argued the COVID-19 pandemic caused operational challenges for the ICC. In March of this year, Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC Mr Mame Mandiaye Niang argued the start of investigations is yet to be declared due to the principle of complementarity. The ICC argues Nigeria is cooperating to close the impunity gap. According to Niang, this will “deliver justice closer to the victims and affected communities.” Despite this, the ICC had reported it “remains committed to mov[ing] forward with investigations in the absence of genuine efforts by Nigerian authorities.”

The non-international armed conflict involved two actors, Boko Haram and its splinter groups and the Nigerian Security Forces (NSF). According to the 2020 report on the preliminary examinations by the ICC Prosecutor, both actors committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. Murder pursuant to Article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute, and torture under Article 7(1)(f) are only a few of the violations the Prosecutor found from both actors. The letter by Amnesty International alleges a possible violation of Article 15(3) of the Statute. Here, the Prosecutor shall submit to the Pre-Trial Chamber a request for authorization of an investigation once the preliminary evaluation is concluded. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has yet to request the initiation of investigation procedures.