Akintoye, Igboho, 49 Yoruba groups take Buhari, Malami, others to ICC

Leader of Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO), Prof. Banji Akintoye; Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly called Sunday Igboho and 49 other Yoruba self-determination groups said they have filed a 27-page petition at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Yoruba people of Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Okun Land in Kogi, and Kwara states. 

The groups said the petition also affected others, including the Minister of Justice and Attorney- General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai; former Inspectors General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and Muhammed Adamu; Comptroller General of Customs, Hamid Alli; the incumbent I-G, Alkali Baba, disclosing that ICC had on Tuesday, July 13, formally acknowledged receipt of the document.

A statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday by the Communications Manager to Akintoye, Mr Maxwell Adeleye, disclosed that besides Prof. Akintoye and Igboho, others who signed the petition, which was submitted by an International Lawyer, Aderemilekun Omojola, Esq, on their behalf, were Chief Imam of Yoruba in Ilorin, Kwara State, Shielk Raheem Aduranigba; Leader of Obinrin Oodua Agbaye, Chief Simisade Kuku; Leader of Yoruba Strategy Alliance, Babatunde Omololu; General Secretary of Ilana Omo Oodua, Arc. George Akinola, and 44 others.

The statement added that other leaders that were accused alongside President Buhari include: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Farouk Yahaya; former Chief of Airforce (COA) Sadiq Abubakar; former Commandant-General of NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi; Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Services, Mohammed Babandede and the current Commandant-General of NSCDC, Abdulahi Gana Muhammadu.

The statement said, following the acknowledgement of the petition, ICC’s Head of Information and Evidence Unit of the Office of the Prosecutor, Mr Mark P. Dilon, in a letter to the petitioners’ Lawyer, Omojola, Esq, informed that he would be communicated in writing as soon as the decision was reached to formally commence investigation into the petition, and also offered reasons for the decision.

Adeleye also said that ICC further informed that: “This communication has been duly entered in the Communications Register of the Office. We will give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

According to spokesperson for Prof Akintoye, the 27-page petition accused Buhari, Malami, Buratai and others of genocide offences such as killing members of the petitioners’ groups; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the various groups; deliberately inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part.

“They were also accused of crimes against humanity, such as murder, deportation or forcible transfer of population, torture, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence of incomparable gravity,” he said.

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