Global Policy Forum

By Ndubuisi Ugah

Nigeria Coalition on International Criminal Court (NCICC) has given the Federal Government 14 days within which to either extradite former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the Special Court in Sierra Leone, or start a legal action against him. The group said failure on the part of government to heed the directive would leave the coalition with no option but to launch a national and global campaign to bring Taylor to Justice.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos yesterday, the secretary of the coalition, Mr. Ameen Ayodele, said the coalition would at the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum " embark on joint programme of popular mobilisation, rallies and processions begining from Calabar to make Nigeria hot and unsafe for Taylor". The secretary said that while Taylor was involved in the conflict that led to the exit and eventual death of former President Samuel Doe, he, Taylor, reneged on terms of the Abuja Peace Accord by monopolising power and refusing to enable the restructuring of the Armed Forces to accommodate all the contending groups in the Liberian conflict.

Ayodele remarked that the former warlord failed to uphold civil liberties through the promotion and protection of human rights, which eventually plunged the country into renewed armed conflict. "We are eqaully aware that during those conflict periods, Charles Taylor took over the Nigerian Embassy and was responsible for the death of so many Nigerians, civilians as well as soldiers". He further said "it is worth noting that two Nigerian Journalists, Tayo Awotunsi and Kris Imodibie, were killed in the course of their professional duty by Taylor's tyranny," adding that Taylor ought not to be protected or shielded from prosecution for these heinous crimes against his people and Nigerians.

The group said it noted the indictment of Taylor by the United Nations Special Court in Sierra Leone and warrant of arrest issued to that effect, even as it was mindful of the questionable role of the United States in the whole saga, which it described as a double standard, considering that the Chief prosecutor to the court was an American. Ayodele regretted that the United States had continued to undermine the International Criminal Court (ICC), an institution charged with the role of entrenching international justice. The group acknowledged that the US was presently seeking Bilateral Immunity Agreement (BIA) from countries to immune its own citizens from the jurisdiction of the international court.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.