The wife of the President, Mrs.
Patience Jonathan, may become
the first wife of a sitting President
to be investigated by the
International Criminal Court which
is tasked with the duty of
investigating and prosecuting
conflict-related crimes.
The ICC has said it will take into
consideration the allegations
levelled against Patience by the All
Progressives Congress.
The APC had written a petition to
the ICC over an alloyed inciting
statement made by Mrs. Jonathan in
which she told supporters of her
party, the Peoples Democratic
Party, to stone anybody that calls
for ‘change.’ Change is the
campaign slogan of the APC.
Although there had been several
inciting political statements in the
past, that of Patience received
widespread condemnation because
it was made after a Peace Accord
was signed by her husband,
Goodluck, the APC presidential
candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari (retd.) and 12 other
presidential candidates.
Incidentally, Patience’s hometown
in the Okrika Local Government
Area of Rivers State has (prior to her
statement) witnessed a high
incidence of violence especially
during APC rallies and the party has
always been quick to accuse the
President’s wife of sponsoring the
attacks.
In one of such rallies, there was a
stampede resulting in the injuring
of over 30 APC supporters while a
policeman was killed. A journalist
with Channels Television was also
stabbed in the neck.
The ICC had two weeks ago
sentenced Simone Gbagbo, the
wife of sit-tight President of nearby
Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, for
her role in the civil war that
engulfed the nation after her
husband refused to hand over to
the winner of the 2010 presidential
election, Alassane Ouattara.
Acknowledging the APC’s petition
via an e-mail sent to our
correspondent through the Office
of the Prosecutor, the international
court wrote, “Under Article 15 of the
Rome Statute, the Prosecutor of the
ICC may receive information on
crimes within the jurisdiction on
the court.
“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 of the communication
has made this fact public in the
media.
“The office will give consideration
to this communication, as
appropriate, in accordance with the
provisions of the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court, as
it does with all such
communications.”
The Director of Media and Publicity
of the PDP Presidential Campaign
Organisation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode,
said the ICC could not summon
Patience until violence breaks out
on account of what she said.
He said, “It is pertinent to note that,
first of all, if they (APC) 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.”
It yet remains unclear if the ICC will
prosecute Patience but the conduct
of the elections might determine
the outcome of the court’s verdict.
Already, the National Human Rights
Commission has urged security
agencies to be on the alert in three
states which might experience
outbreak of violence.
It is no surprise that the three
states are Lagos, Kaduna and Rivers,
which is the first lady’s home state.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
