A body of legal professionals identified as Lawyers United for Equality and Human Rights Advocacy has written to the Attorney-General of the Federation, demanding the probe and prosecution of Boko Haram insurgents and their sponsors at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Malam Abubakar Malami which was made available to DAILY POST in Abuja, the group noted it was obvious that there was international sponsorship of terrorism which it said was encouraging the resurgence of militancy in other parts of the country.
The document which was signed by the group’s convener, BarristerEdward Omaga, averred that taking the steps of prosecution would not only stem the tide of terrorism, but would be a departure from mistakes of the past.
“Of course, the federal government should realise that there is nowhere in the world where the magnitude of crimes perpetuated by Islamic Terrorists – Boko Haram and that of the current Niger Delta Avengers took place without prosecution at the International Criminal Court,” the group maintained.
The group also pointed that recent developments showed that Boko Haram terrorists were still in touch with their sponsors for political reasons.
“The recent developments in Nigeria which are capable of causing serious political upheavals are pointers to the fact that the top politicians in Borno State who created Boko Haram are still in touch with their “foot soldiers”, they said.
They reasoned that having gone this far in decimating Boko Haram insurgency, the lack of prosecutions of their sponsors will bring about continued heinous crimes in the North East and Nigeria in general.
According to the group, the brutal killing of over 10,000 people since 2009 by the insurgents was too much of a crime that must be prosecuted in order to preserve the peace of the nation in future.
“It is our duty as a group of refined legal minds to fight and preserve Nigeria- the country that gave every Nigerian a home and heritage especially since 2009, over 10,000 Nigerians have been killed,” they said. .
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