FORMER Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, has urged Federal Government to sue South Africa before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for failure to care and protect Nigerian citizens resident there against ongoing xenophobic attacks.
Akinyemi made the call in a statement made available to Tribune Online titled: ‘On South Africa culpability on Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.’
The former minister contended that he came to making such call based on his conclusion that the series of attacks on Nigerians and other immigrants were acts sponsored or condoned by the South African state in violation of existing laws and International Conventions.
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According to Akinyemi, statements credited to South Africa Minister of International Relations, Dr Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor; the country’s Deputy Police Minister, Bongani Mkongi, among others were not only in violation of Article 2, paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights but also that of Article 2, paragraph 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as several others.
The former minister listed other provocative statements from South African officials to include one credited to the country’s Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula that South Africa was an angry nation and that it could not prevent the xenophobic attacks and several others credited to their diplomats blaming the immigrants of various alleged crimes.
Akinyemi said the anti-immigrant acts by the South African Immigration Service officials “which for all practical purposes amount to holding Nigerian immigrants hostage by refusing to allow them to be evacuated,” was another reason the Federal Government needed to drag the South African government before the ICJ.
Besides, the former minister demanded that Nigeria should file complaints at the ICJ against specific South African officials for aiding and abetting the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians resident in that country.
“I furthermore call on Nigeria to file complaints against specific South African officials at the International Criminal Court for aiding and abetting the xenophobic attacks,” he said.
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