Patience Jonathan won’t appear before ICC – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party
Presidential Campaign
Organisation has said that wife of
President Goodluck Jonathan,
Patience, will not appear before
the International Criminal Court.
It said there was no basis for her to
be reported to the international
court in the first place.
The Director of Media and Publicity
of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-
Kayode, stated this at a press
briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Fani-Kayode was reacting to the
claim by the main opposition party,
the All Progressives Congress, that
it had reported the President’s wife
to the ICC.
Patience was reported to have told
supporters of the PDP at its rally in
Cross River State to stone anyone
canvassing for change in the state.
“Change” is the slogan of the APC.
In its complaint to the ICC, the APC
through its Director-General,
Presidential Campaign Council, Mr.
Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the
Governor of Rivers State, said the
wife of the President was calling on
the supporters of the ruling party
to attack those of the APC.
But Fani-Kayode described
Patience as a woman of peace,
adding that her speech didn’t
propel anyone to take to violence.
The former Minister of Aviation
added that those that dragged the
wife of the President to ICC were
not educated on issue of
international law.
He said if they were, they would
have known that individuals were
not taken to the court on the basis
of their speech.
He said, “It is pertinent to note that,
first of all, if they were a little
better educated and had a better
understanding of international law
and how the ICC works, they would
appreciate the fact that no
individual is ever taken to the ICC
based on what he or she has said
unless and until people act on
those words and massacre others.
“It is only if that speech is followed
by violence and mayhem or if it
incites people to commit violence,
which results in death, mass
murder and crimes against
humanity, that the person who
indulged in such hate speech
becomes an eligible candidate for
the ICC.
“Dame Patience Jonathan is a
woman of peace. She did not
threaten anyone with violence; she
did not incite anyone to commit
violence or to kill others and her
words have not resulted in death,
mass murder or any crimes against
humanity.
“We therefore completely reject
the baseless charge and assertion
that she has called for the killing or
slaughter of anyone at any point in
time.”
Fani-Kayode described the threat
to take Patience to the ICC as not
only absurd but also nothing more
than an empty and boastful
“ranting of a perfidious, desperate,
decaying and dying political party
and such threat will amount to
nothing.”
He said that if anyone was to be
taken to the court, it must be the
presidential candidate of the APC,
Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari
(retd.).
Fani-Kayode also alleged that the
APC was planning hate
documentary on the private lives of
the President, his wife and that of
the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke.