The International Criminal Court
(ICC) says it is examining the farmers-herders crisis in Nigeria.
Fatou Bensouda, lead prosecutor
of the ICC, disclosed this at The Hague, Netherlands, while presenting the
annual report of ICC activities for 2018, on Wednesday.
She said the ICC is examining
available information to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to
believe that the crimes allegedly committed fall under its jurisdiction.
In the preliminary examinations
report, which addresses many countries including Nigeria, the ICC said from
January to June 2018, over 1,300 people were killed and 300,000 displaced as a
result of clashes between herders and farmers in five states.
“From January to June 2018, over
1,300 people were reportedly killed as a result of violence between herders and
settlers in Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Taraba states and about
300,000 persons were displaced,” the report read.
“Furthermore, the office received
communications on attacks allegedly carried out by Fulani herders and Christian
settlers in the context of the violence in Nigeria’s North Central and North
East geographical zones. This violence, which has been observed by the office
since 2016, is often referred to as a conflict between Fulani herders and
Christian farmers, stemming from limited access to water, land and other
resources.”
The report said the violence grew
worse between 2017 and 2018.
“The escalation of violence in
late 2017 and 2018 is reportedly the result of the rise of ethnic militias and
community vigilantes and the passage of grazing laws in some of the affected
States that reportedly imposed restrictions on herders, among others,” it read.
“Militias are also reported to
have clashed with NSF deployed in the affected area to address the
deteriorating security situation.
“Some of the attacks on civilians
were allegedly committed by criminal gangs involved in cattle-rustling that
were subsequently blamed on Fulani herders. The Office has reviewed these
communications and continues to gather additional information to determine
whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes allegedly
committed in this context fall under ICC jurisdiction.”
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