The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has opened a
preliminary inquiry into the demonstrations against harassment and brutality by
the police.
According to BBC, the ICC said it had received information
on alleged crimes during the protests, which were organised under the #EndSARS
campaign.
In October, many Nigerians took to the streets to call for
an end to police brutality.
In response to the protests, Mohammed Adamu,
inspector-general of police (IGP), announced the dissolution of the special
anti-robbery squad (SARS) — a unit that had been accused of extrajudicial
killings.
The ICC said the inquiry will begin with “whether the legal
criteria for opening an investigation under the Rome Statute are met”.
The development is coming after a number of civil society
organisations (CSO) threatened to report some heads of security agencies to the
ICC over the conduct of their personnel during the demonstrations, popularly
called #EndSARS protests.
However, Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, has since
dismissed the threats to report him and some heads of security agencies to the
ICC and other international authorities.
“They have continually threatened to report the NA to the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and also threatened various forms of
sanctions against personnel and their families,” Buratai had said.
“Criminal elements are threatening us with travel ban but we
are not worried because we must remain in this country to make it better.”
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