FLASH BACK January 2023 👇
By Emmanuel Gandu
PRAYERS
The endless killings of the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna in Nigeria is unabated. Federal government’s action and inaction is complicit and smacks of human rights abuse, genocide, and holocaust.
Men, women and children are killed for the game like wild animals, while the perpetrators who go on the rampage killing spree from town to town not only carry on the massacre unaprrehended but occupy the land.
As the situation Continue to get unbearable, ugly and deadly with catastrophic consequences, the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna will be completely wiped out from their ancestral land before long.
I therefore call on the surviving people of Southern Kaduna to send a petition to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court for proceedings against the relevant body/groups responsible for the carnage and genocide on the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna.
WHY SOUTHERN KADUNA SHOULD PETITION THE UN AND ICC
(1) The facts of the genocide as already encapsulated in the ‘Prayers’ above.
(2) Nigeria as a country is :
(a) A member of the United Nations since 7th October 1960.
(b) A party and signatory to the ICC Rome Statute having joined as a member on 27th September, 2001.
(3) The United Nations through the ICC its organ of prosecution, had set up the International tribunal that tried Slobadan Milosevic and his colleagues for genocide and war crimes.
This was as a result of large scale massacre and genocide committed by the Bosnian Military against Bosnian Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica in 1991 following the breakaway of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia.
(4) In 1994, the Rwanda large scale genocide and massacre of the Tutsi tribe by the Hutu led to the setting up of the the ICC war crimes tribunal by the United Nations to try the perpetrators of the genocide.
(5) Omar al-Bashir of Sudan was the first sitting head-of-state to be issued with an ICC arrest warrant.
This was in 2009 where he was to be tried for genocide and massacre of the indigenous people of the Darfur region of Southern Sudan since 2005.
(6) The Republic of South Sudan became an independent country carved out of Sudan on 9th July 2011 in order to grant self determination to the people of Southern Sudan.
South Sudan was excised from Sudan by the United Nations as a result of several years of genocide on the people by the Arab North Janjaweed militia backed up by state apparatus.
As an outcome of genocide petition, the United Nations conducted the 2011 referendum which returned an over 90% yes vote supporting South Sudan to exit Sudan
NIGERIA’S MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNITED NATIONS : SOME ADVANTAGES
The Federal Republic of Nigeria was admitted as a member of the United Nations on 7th October 1960 having gained Independence on 1st October 1960.
With this UN membership, Nigeria enjoys the following privilages and rights :
(1) Nigeria is a signatory to the UN Conventions and Protocols, and hence the various proceedings are binding on Nigeria.
(2) The United Nations System (UNS) in Nigeria consisting of State Resident and Non Resident entities have continued to be involved in productive engagement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a catalytic supporter of, and trusted partner in Nigeria’s development aspirations.
(3) The United Nations supports Nigeria in her Multi-Faceted Security Challenges which includes the complex humanitarian situations in the North East regional, North Central, North West, and other International conflicts with IDP’S spread across the country.
(4) The United Nations Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (UNSDPF) programmes to Nigeria.
(5) The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and other UN sponsored programs render tremendous assistance in Nigeria’s efforts in addressing development challenges.
THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The United Nations Charter on the declaration of human rights grants the people the power to change the world, and inspire everybody to continue working to ensure all people can gain freedom, equality, dignity, and security.
This Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights for the rights of people to be universally protected.
It was (UDHR) adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10th December 1948 during it’s 183rd Plenary Meeting in the assembly’s resolution 217A, and its articles 1 – 30.
Article 2 for example enshrined that :
“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, poverty, birth, or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
Article 3 states that :
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
The ICC is based in the Hague, Netherlands. The ICC founding treaty was adopted by the UN General Assembly at a conference in Rome in July 1998.
After its ratification by the initial 60 countries, this Rome Statute entered into force on 1st July 2002.
Established in 2002 as a world criminal court the ICC seeks to :
(1) Investigate cases of genocide, or the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
(2) Investigate and prosecute those responsible for grave offenses such as genocide and war crimes.
(3) Hold to account those guilty of the world’s crimes.
(4) Deters would-be war criminals.
(5) Bolsters the rule of law.
(6) Offers justice to victims of atrocities.
CONCLUSION
The endless holocaust and genocide campaign going on in Southern Kaduna is gruesomely executed with impunity for many years now.
Guns and knives of terror have continuosly and severally been on the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna without any consequences on the deadly perpetrators.
Knives are used to rip off human foetus and unborn babies from the stomach of the helpless dying mothers. Men, women and children are hunted down by the booming guns and raining raging bullets like wild game.
Entire towns and village settlements are completely burnt down by the invading forces without any hindrance. Majority of the erstwhile bubbling towns of Southern Kaduna have become deserted desolate ghost towns.
It therefore remains to be seen whether the surviving men and women of Southern Kaduna will wake up to the challenges of a coordinated appeal to the conscience of the UN and ICC towards handing out justice and putting a halt to the holocaust OR standby and watch their own extermination.
Peace 🙏
