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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

ICC Dismisses Anonymous Crimes Against Humanity Petition Against Nigeria, Government Objects to Procedure

From Premium Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • The ICC dismissed an anonymous petition seeking an investigation into alleged systematic kidnappings in Nigeria for procedural violations.
  • Nigeria’s attorney-general welcomed the dismissal but said the court improperly assigned an unverified filing to Pre-Trial Chamber II.
  • The government said the petition did not lead to an investigation or an adverse finding against Nigeria, despite the country’s continuing kidnapping crisis.

Nigeria’s government welcomed the International Criminal Court’s dismissal of an anonymous petition on alleged crimes against humanity, but sharply criticised how the filing reached the court’s pre-trial chamber.

The petition, titled “Formal Communication Requesting Investigation into Systemic Kidnappings in Nigeria as Crimes Against Humanity,” was submitted by an unidentified person. It was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II on Aug. 26 under Regulation 46(3) of the ICC’s regulations. The chamber dismissed it on Sept. 1, according to a statement from Attorney-General and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi.

Fagbemi said the president of the pre-trial division improperly began a procedural process by sending an unverified filing from an anonymous submitter to the chamber. He called the move an unusual departure from procedures established under the Rome Statute and said Nigeria would make representations to the ICC.

The Federal Government notes with serious concern that on 26th August 2026, the President of the Pre-Trial Division improperly initiated a procedural process by assigning an unverified filing from an anonymous submitter to Pre-Trial Chamber II

· Lateef FagbemiNigeria’s attorney-general criticises the procedure used to refer the anonymous filing.

The minister argued that the ICC prosecutor has the authority to assess information and seek an investigation. A formal referral can also come from a state party or the United Nations Security Council, he said. He questioned whether the president of the pre-trial division or a pre-trial chamber could accept anonymous petitions or intervene in the internal security affairs of a sovereign state. Processing such a filing, he added, could weaken confidence in the court’s judicial processes.

Fagbemi stressed that the court’s handling of the petition did not amount to an investigation of Nigeria. “The Federal Government reassures the Nigerian public and the international community that no investigation has been opened by the ICC against Nigeria, nor has any adverse finding been made against the Nigerian State or its institutions,” he said. The filing came amid persistent kidnapping in Nigeria, particularly in the North-West and parts of the North-Central region.

The Federal Government reassures the Nigerian public and the international community that no investigation has been opened by the ICC against Nigeria, nor has any adverse finding been made against the Nigerian State or its institutions

· Lateef FagbemiHe clarifies that the dismissal did not follow the opening of an ICC investigation or an adverse finding.
About this summary

Originally published by Premium Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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