The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has pledged the support and goodwill of the National Assembly of Nigeria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its efforts to check crimes against humanity and ensure justice for the victims.

He made the pledge when he received the President of the Court, His Excellency, Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, who paid him a visit in Abuja on Thursday.

Ekweremadu, who described the mandate of the Court as “very critical to a peaceful and stable world devoid of oppression and aggression”, said Nigerians and Africans were proud of Judge the jurist’s recent emergence as the President of the Court.

He said: “As somebody coming from Africa, I think that you are in a better position to understand the issues around the mandate you because a lot of these atrocities have been recorded in Africa in forms of senseless mass killings and related atrocities.

“For us as a civilised people, we believe that human life is very precious. That is why the right to life is the first right in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and I think that is the same with modern constitutions the world over.

“So anything that has to do with killings of people and any kind of oppression that gives less meaning to human life must be condemned.

“So, ICC has the full support of the National Assembly of Nigeria in your efforts and that of the global community to end genocides, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. You have our support in your efforts to help the victims of such atrocities find justice.

“If there is anything we need to do as a parliament in terms of ratification of treaties and protocols as well as advocacy that will advance the work of the ICC, we will be very happy to do so.”

On his part, Judge Eboe-Osuji said the purpose of his visit was to express his gratitude to Nigeria for supporting the ICC and its mandate, saying that the “idea of the rule of law must continue and there must be accountability for violations of international criminal laws”.

“If you look around the world, the concerns of accountability continue and one would expect that Nigeria would stand up against such continuation of atrocious conducts that should be prosecuted.

“Crimes and conducts that shock the conscience of humanity cannot go without questions; without somebody being held accountable to them. That is what the ICC is about,” he said.

Update news