The House of Representatives reiterated its commitment to domesticate international treaties aimed at safeguarding human rights. The Speaker House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, made this known when he received the President of the International Criminal Court, Judge Chile Ebue Osuji, at the National Assembly.
Mr. Dogara who raised concerns about the emergence and strengthening of far-right groups and the dangers inherent in the trend, highlighted the importance of the Court in keeping such tendencies at bay and preventing crimes against humanity.
He said “The difficulty is that so many national figures may not support the very ideals and philosophy behind the Court in the sense that a lot of people who have acquired this immunity and the impunity that we are talking about would not want to account to any international body; but with the accentuation of far right politics across the world, chances are that some of these crimes that jolted humanity’s conscience may be repeated. Except there are bodies like this that can step in at the right time to ensure that individuals who are accused of these heinous crimes against humanity are brought to book, then there will be no let in the accentuation of this kind of ideology.”
The Speaker also pledged Nigeria’s continued support for the International Criminal Court. “We will continue to support the ideals upon which the court was founded, more so now that we have our own. By doing that, we will be living up to our national creed of ensuring that justice is done regardless of whatever happens.” Dogara stressed.
Earlier, Judge Chile Ebue Osuji, commended Nigeria for remaining consistent in supporting the ICC and efforts toward establishing an international community where peace and justice reign.
Judge Osuji said “Nigeria has always supported the ICC in trying to build an international community where peace and justice reign supreme. That is what the Court stands for and a key aspect of that is that when crimes that shock the conscience of humanity are committed – crimes like genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, now we also have the crime of aggression – when they are committed, they disturb international peace and security and it is important that human beings should not feel a sense of impunity when they engage in conduct of that nature. That is what the court stands for and that is what I represent.”
