Lawyers are to file a complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on alleged human rights abuses against members of the pro-Biafran separatist movement.

Dutch lawyer and professor Göran Sluiter, who specialises in international criminal law, is leading the team that will file the complaint at the Hague in the Netherlands in February. Sluiter and his colleague Andrew Ianuzzi are working full time on the case, and are occasionally assisted by a team of 20 other lawyers.

Sluiter told IBTimes UK they have been representing the "Biafran minority" since the arrest of pro-Biafran leader Nnamdi Kanu in October 2015. "We have found evidence of some crimes directed against the Biafran minority in Nigeria," he said. "Violations include violence against demonstrators, torture, murder, enforced disappearances and incarcerations.

Biafra protests
A pro-Biafran lies prostrate after being shot allegedly by the army on 17 DecemberIpob
"There is a whole list of incidents and with Buhari coming into power, this is becoming more of a structured nature, exemplified by Kanu's arrest and how the government is dealing with demonstrations calling for Kanu's release."

Sluiter also made reference to the use of Skype in sourcing evidence and the issue of human rights. He said: "In addition to information on public sources, I have conducted phone and Skype interviews with individual victims as we wanted to hear the first-hand evidence.

"I also received pictures of victims of police violence during demonstrations. We will be presenting anonymous interviews with about 20,25 people, but there are many more victims.

"There has been a systematic denial of human rights of the Biafran people, who are oppressed by the government. We hope that the ICC will bring justice to the victims with serious investigations and hopefully a trial. We also hope that Mr Kanu – whose treatment is symbolic of the treatment of the entire Biafran minority in Nigeria – will be released.



Biafra movement

Thousands of people – mainly from Igbo extraction – identify themselves as Biafrans, a term used to define people living in the Biafran territories forcibly annexed to present-day south-eastern Nigeria during the British colonisation.

Pro-Biafran calls have intensified since October 2015, following the arrest of Kanu, who is also the director of Radio Biafra. In spite of a High Court ruling in favour of his release, Kanu is being detained by the State Security Service (DSS) amid allegations of torture. A day after the ruling, officials pressed new charges against him.

“There is a whole list of incidents and with Buhari coming into power, this is becoming more of a structured nature, exemplified by Kanu's arrest”

-Lawyer Göran Sluiter
Pro-Biafrans have often accused the police and army of unjustified violence against demonstrators. In one of the latest episodes of alleged violence, the army was accused of killing between four and 10 people who were celebrating the high court verdict on Kanu on 17 December. During several interviews with IBTimes UK, the Nigerian police have always denied the killings.

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, there have been movements calling for the independence of Biafra. In 1967, the declaration of an independent Republic of Biafra triggered a three-year-long civil war that caused millions of deaths.

Government's response

When asked to comment on the allegations, Buhari's spokesperson Femi Adesina told IBTimes UK: "The lawyers have a right to their opinions. It does not make what they say gospel truth."

Referring to Kanu, Adesina said: "The president already spoke on the matter during the Presidential Media Chat of December 30." During the chat, Buhari said Kanu and former security aide Sambo Dasuki – accused of stealing money aimed for the fight against Boko Haram terrorists – will not be freed in spite of High Court rulings in favour of their release.

In an interview with Radio Continental earlier in January, Adesina defended Buhari against allegations that he does not like the Igbos, one of Nigeria's largest ethnic groups.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nigeria-amsterdam-lawyers-file-complaint-icc-over-buharis-crimes-against-biafrans-1537226

Quite interesting.

After Nwazurike scammed his own people for passport to nowhere, now some white men has decided to key into the issue.

By the time the eyes of those agitators will clear, they will realise they have been scammed by the Europeans.

Lalasticlala, Buhari don enter gbege oh, do you agree?

It is long over due, Buhari has been President for two minutes with Human Right abuses left right and center.

He is too trigger happy to be a President of a multi ethnic entity like Nigeria.

The man gets frustrated or things dont go his way, so somebody has to die.

Season 2 Begins...

EasternLion:



Go yeye and hide under your brown roof, for ye shall bring forth legs of bubu, son of hari to ICC, with your sycophancy

Keep on dreaming. It is your inalienable right.

Ijaya123:



Keep on dreaming. It is your inalienable right.

You also have the right to continue being a bellend with no hope of understanding issues bigger than you.

EasternLion:


You also have the right to continue being a bellend with no hope of understanding issues bigger than you.

Dream on dude, dream on...

Inconsequential to say the least.

waternogetemeny:
It is long over due, Buhari has been President for two minutes with Human Right abuses left right and center.

He is too trigger happy to be a President of a multi ethnic entity like Nigeria.

The man gets frustrated or things dont go his way, so somebody has to die.

Who will charge Nnamdi Kalu for hate speeches and inciting words against humanity. Bunch of interesting people. Do they even know the road to ICC?

amaechi1:


Who will charge Nnamdi Kalu for hate speeches and inciting words against humanity. Bunch of interesting people. Do they even know the road to ICC?

Who will charge your demi-god (Buhari) for his hate and inciteful speeches and that of the then opposition party APC ?

who are the Biafrans? stop fooling yourselves.

and let the chest beating continues...

i dont know why most yoruba guys on nl don't mind their business, why is it that they're even more on the side of buhari than osibanjo their brother?

amaechi1:


Who will charge Nnamdi Kalu for hate speeches and inciting words against humanity. Bunch of interesting people. Do they even know the road to ICC?

your BuBU bamboos and dogs soaking in blood speech wich he gave during 2011 and killed Corp members and igbos in the north, and making Nigeria ungervonorable speech, is a love speech abi, zombie from brown zinc Republic

This One Is Sure Not Going To FP.

The world is now fully aware

OK! when you're stressed at work and need some comic relief......thank God for the likes of comic OP and his buffoonery.............

The SUN shall rise again!

EasternLion:



Go yeye and hide under your brown roof, for ye shall bring forth legs of bubu, son of hari to ICC, with your sycophancy

Lmao! I once said that yorubas are actually urging on buhari so that he can feel he is highly supported in his tyranny, but when Buhari falls into a ditch while fighting Easterners, his yoruba supporters will leave him to his fate and point to the constitution for Osibanjo to take over, we know their true nature of backstabbing. lol

Anticabal:


Lmao! I once said that yorubas are actually urging on buhari so that he can feel he is highly supported in his tyranny when Buhari falls into a ditch, fighting Easterners, his yoruba supporters will leave him to his fate and point to the constitution for Osibanjo to take over, we know their true nature of backstabbing. lol

Buhari should be careful, I don't like him tho, but the way those guys are supporting him in every evil he does, he is going to feel the heat soon and they will leave him to suffer.

Arrlyt

I don't hate buhari!

Anticabal:


Lmao! I once said that yorubas are actually urging on buhari so that he can feel he is highly supported in his tyranny when Buhari falls into a ditch, fighting Easterners, his yoruba supporters will leave him to his fate and point to the constitution for Osibanjo to take over, we know their true nature of backstabbing. lol

This is what I call Fat fact!!
You really nailed it... Epic!

Ijaya123:
Quite interesting.

After Nwazurike scammed his own people for passport to nowhere, now some white men has decided to key into the issue.

By the time the eyes of those agitators will clear, they will realise they have been scammed by the Europeans.

In all honesty and sincerity, Nigeria will one day divide into parts, if not now, definitely some day. It's prudent for youth of today to prepare their future with that in mind.

Buhari is in for it!!!



Serves him right! #Tyrant

lalasticlala, pls come o. dis should be on front page o. You are d only mod wey be say na only good things we take know u. na oyibo lawyers one sue buhari now no be ipob again o.

Lmao

This bald headed fuckwart called Goram Suwhatever is so pathetic its not even funny anymore. He and whatever pathetic group of Igbos he works for have been trying to 'drag' Buhari to the ICC since before he got elected, how did that work out for them?

I saw a youtube video of a garbage interview he did basically talking shit about Buhari and how they're gonna take him down, repeating the usual twisted lies his Igbo clients have fed him.

I personally dont wanna waste my time on such meaningless crap, but the point is he and his clients are wasting their time. But they can feel free to continue living in delusion. Reality hit them in the face when their bro GEJ was booted and apparently their heads aint recovered since.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin L. Kings.

Rubbish....'dilector's' wife needs money to feed Nnamdi Jr....

coolitempa:
Rubbish....'dilector's' wife needs money to feed Nnamdi Jr....

Who the hell are you? Nobody knows you! And you have many pictures f nnamdi on your gadget! You are null