The International Criminal Court says it is conducting a preliminary examination into the #EndSARS protests which resulted in the killing of scores of protesters and security personnel.
About 51 civilians and over 28 police officers and seven soldiers were killed during the violence that trailed the Lekki shootings of October 20, 2020.
The ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, in a statement to the BBC on Wednesday said her office had received information on the alleged crimes.
The examination, ICC said, will “assess whether the legal criteria for opening an investigation under the Rome Statute are met.”
The court said it would make findings of the preliminary examination public.
Following the shootings of protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate, Lagos, a coalition of civil society organisations had asked the ICC to commence a probe of arbitrary killings of the #EndSars protesters at different demonstration grounds across the country.
The group which comprised 30 CSOs in a statement described the killings as unacceptable.
The coalition also the National Assembly to hold a public hearing to investigate abuse of power by the security operatives and failure of the security agencies to arrest thugs and hoodlums who attacked the peaceful protesters.
“This coalition calls on the International Criminal Court to open an investigation to ongoing crimes against humanity being committed against the peaceful and unarmed #EndSARS protesters in Nigeria,” the coalition demanded.
The CSOs comprising the Centre for Democracy and Development, Global Rights, BudgIT and 27 others claimed to have documentary evidence on the several injustices against the peaceful protesters.
Apparently responding to the request in a tweet last month, the ICC prosecutor stated, “My office has been closely following the events around the current protests in Nigeria and the reaction of Nigeria’s law enforcement and security agencies. The ICC investigation will be hinged on if the “Rome Statute crimes may have been committed during the EndSARS.”
Credit: Punch