We’ve no intention leaving International Criminal Court – FG

The Federal Government, has said that it had no intention of pulling out of the International Criminal Court, noting that the court represented the hope and aspirations of millions of people around the world.



It stated that Nigeria, as a party to the Rome Statute, believed that the court also represented an international mechanism for ensuring justice for all.

South Africa, had last week announced its intention to leave the ICC, following the planned withdrawal of Burundi and The Gambia from the court.

But the federal government, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, by the acting spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jane Adams, said the plan by some African countries to leave the ICC was their national decisions, stressing that Nigeria remained a signatory to the Rome Statute adopted on July 17, 1998 and which entered into force on July 1, 2002.

Nigeria deposited its instrument on September 27,  2001, but many member-states States of the United Nations, have yet to become signatories to the statute.

It noted that non-membership of the court did not preclude anyone from prosecution, adding that the UN Security Council could refer cases to the court for prosecution.

The government called on all member-states, who have yet to sign the Rome Statute to consider becoming signatories, stating that it was by working together that they could ensure that the court performed its functions effectively and serve humanity faithfully.