ICC to probe Patience Jonathan

The Internal Criminal Court on
Monday said Nigeria’s First Lady,
Dame Patience Jonathan, is liable
to prosecution.
The global criminal court added
that it had begun conducting
preliminary examinations relating
to the situations in Nigeria.
In an email written to our
correspondent, the Office of the
prosecutor stated that it received
the petition written by the major
opposition party in Nigeria, the All
Progressives Congress, asking the
ICC to prosecute President
Goodluck Jonathan’s wife for
making inciting comments that
might lead to violence.
The email read, “Under Article 15 of
the Rome Statue, the Prosecutor of
the ICC may receive information on
crimes within the jurisdiction on
the Court (also called
‘Communication’).
“With regards to your enquiry, the
Office of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court can
confirm receipt of the
communication referred to since
the sender (APC) has made this fact
public in the media.”
It added that the court would take
all the necessary steps, which will
likely include interrogating the
President’s wife and others
mentioned in the petition of the
APC.
“The office will give consideration
to this communication, as
appropriate, in accordance with the
provisions of the Rome Statue of
the International Criminal Court, as
it does with all such
communications,” the email sent to
our correspondent concluded.
Also, the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court, Fatou
Bensouda, on Monday issued a
press statement made available to
our correspondent.
In it, she reiterated the stance of
the ICC to prosecute anyone who
promotes or instigates violence
before, during or after the general
elections.
The ICC prosecutor noted that it had
already started to conduct
independent and impartial
investigations and prosecution of
the crimes of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes in
Uganda, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Darfur, Sudan, Libya, Ivory
Coast and Mali.
“The Office is also conducting
preliminary examinations relating
to the situations in Afghanistan,
Colombia, Georgia, Guinea,
Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Ukraine and
Palestine,” the ICC said.