Following a series of allegations by the Australian negotiator Stephen Davis directed at ex Borno governor Ali Modu Sheriff and former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, the opposition party make calls for the independent trial.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) September 2 demanded the country President Goodluck Jonathan to hand over the said officials to the International Criminal Court as the foreign expert keeps insisting that they are involved in sponsoring Boko Haram terrorist group.
According to Premium Times, speaking at the press conference in Abuja, the party chairman John Oyegun said:
“Now that the cat has been let out of the bag and the real sponsors of Boko Haram have been exposed, we hope President Jonathan will summon the courage to do the right thing: Hand over the identified Boko Haram sponsors to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and prosecution. There is no doubt that Boko Haram has committed crimes against humanity in its scorched-earth campaign against unharmed citizens, and the most appropriate body to investigate and try the sect’s sponsors is the ICC. “
Oyegun provided the legal reasoning to support the APC’s position on the importance of investigation by the international court
“According to Article 17 of the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, and to which Nigeria is signatory, the ICC is a court of last resort, expected to exercise its jurisdiction only if states themselves are unwilling or unable genuinely to investigate and prosecute international crimes.”
Breaking facts from Davis
In a recent period Stephen Davis, who had spent months in Nigeria trying to enable release of more than 200 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram April 14, made shocking disclosures, specifically about who sponsors insurgency in Nigeria.
The negotiator called Ihejirika and Sheriff as the insurgents’ sponsors. Reacting to the accusations Sheriff reportedly even threatened to travel to Australian to sue Davis. He denied any sponsoring terrorism and claimed that anyone alleging it was involved in a plot to tarnish his image.
However Davis insisted on the information.
Speaking further, Dr Davis, who had been appointed by Jonathan in Chibok issue and had been in close contact with Boko Haram commanders, said that after year of work with Nigerian presidents on terrorism-related matter he learnt that even when top country officials are known to be responsible for criminality in the country, presidents are still afraid to make a move against.
In the interview to the Nigerian edition TheCable, the Australian negotiator also exposed the scheme, according to which Boko Haram pass huge amounts of their finances through the “legal channel”, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Thus, he explained the insurgents are supplied with arms and uniforms. He identified the CBN official involved in the criminal act and also said he is linked with the suspect of Nyanya bombing in Abuja.
When asked about how Chibok girls could be rescued Davis said the sponsor, the weapons supplier, should be cut off from the sect:
“We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls these ritualists.”
It is worth mentioning that the 63-year-old expert had also worked as an adviser for Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Yar’Adua.
