ICC Dismisses Anonymous Petition Against Nigeria

The International Criminal Court has rejected an anonymous petition that sought to classify alleged systemic kidnappings in Nigeria as crimes against humanity. Attorney-General and Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi said the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber II dismissed the application on Sept. 1, 2026, at the threshold because it was not properly before the court and lacked a legal basis.

Nigeria welcomed the dismissal but objected to what happened before it. Fagbemi said an unknown submitter’s filing was assigned to the chamber on Aug. 26 without first determining whether the communication was competent or manifestly frivolous. He described that initial processing as a troubling departure from the Rome Statute’s procedural framework.

Fagbemi said the use of internal registry mechanisms for an unverified filing risked casting “an unnecessary shadow over the integrity of the Court’s judicial processes.” Nigeria is making representations to the ICC despite the petition’s dismissal.

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an unnecessary shadow over the integrity of the Court’s judicial processes

The attorney-general argued that the authority to evaluate information or request an investigation rests with the ICC prosecutor, or follows a formal referral from a state party or the United Nations Security Council. He said neither the president of the Pre-Trial Division nor a pre-trial chamber had the power to receive anonymous petitions or interfere in the internal security affairs of a sovereign state.

Fagbemi said Nigeria remained committed to the Rome Statute. The government’s response therefore combines acceptance of the chamber’s decision with a formal challenge to the way the anonymous communication entered the court’s administrative process.

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The authority to evaluate information or request an investigation rests solely with the Prosecutor of the ICC, or through formal referrals by a State Party or the UN Security Council.