Group Sues Uzodinma, Service Chiefs For Killings, Rights Abuses In ICC Court
A human rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has filed a criminal case at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Geneva against Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and former security chiefs who served between the year 2020 and 2023 for killings and rights violations during their tenure in office.
According to a statement signed by the Chairman of the board, Emeka Umeagbalasi and others, the group said “it dragged them to ICC “For Investigation and Prosecution Over Imo Mass Killings, and other issues”.
It said it has also copied the suit to 29 world leaders and seven top UK officials to intervene and stop killings in Imo and the killing of Christians in Nigeria.
Those involved are 32 in number with Uzodinma and Commandant General of the Imo Ebubeagu Militia (Vigilante) Group and Chief Security Officer of the State since January 20, 2020.
The group said its special investigation showed that “Uzodinma aided and abetted the mass atrocities including mass murders, abductions, disappearances, acts of torture and burning down or wanton destruction of civilian houses and other properties and failed woefully to act to stop them”.
According to Intersociety, a 13-page document and other attached evidence filed before the ICC at The Hague, The Netherlands against Governor Uzodinma and 31 others, are ‘crimes against humanity’ and are strongly being suspected to have taken place and are still taking place in Nigeria’s Imo State, covering January 2021 to May 2023 and above.
In the document, it said, it “averred that the state actors in Imo State including Governor Hope Uzodinma aided and abetted and are still aiding and abetting the Imo mass murders and other conduct atrocities as well as grossly conspiring in their perpetration and perpetuation”.
Those dragged to the court it said “turned into vehicles used to arbitrarily arrest and detain; torture, abduct, disappear, falsely criminalize, mass-murder and wantonly destroy or burn down civilian houses and other properties”.
