Leading Civil Rights Advocacy group – Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has made good its threat to institute a Petition for the arrest and prosecution for crimes against humanity of the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, over his wilful refusal to arrest and prosecute killers of the young Christian female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto, Miss Deborah Samuel.
In the Petition already mailed and dispatched by Courier to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, HURIWA through its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko affirmed that: “Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, hereby makes this petition to the International Criminal Court ICC, under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, already ratified by Nigeria”.
The Petition requests that Mr Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto State at the time of the murder of Miss Deborah Samuel, a female Christian student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, by Muslim fanatics in May 2022, for blasphemy against Holy prophet Mohammed (PBUH), be arrested and prosecuted.
This Petition is hinged on the following facts:
1) The right to life of every citizen of Nigeria is guaranteed under Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, except as provided therein.
2) The prohibition of blasphemy in Section 204 of the Criminal Code cannot pass the test of constitutional validity, in view of the guarantees of Freedom of Religion and Free Speech, under Sections 38 and 39 of the Constitution, respectively.
3) Although the responsibility of criminal prosecution is that of the Nigeria Police headed by a Commissioner of Police in each State of the Federation of Nigeria, each State Governor as Chief Security Officer of his State has operational control of the Police in his or her State, through the aforementioned State Police Commissioners.
4) Each State in Nigeria including Sokoto State, has a Ministry of Justice, headed by an Attorney-General, with full prosecutorial powers, in respect of crimes committed in his State, including murder.
5) Therefore, the ultimate responsibility of arresting and prosecuting the fanatics that murdered Miss Deborah Samuel, is that of the Governor of Sokoto at the time, Mr Aminu Tambuwal.
6) The danger of Mr Tambuwal’s lackadaisical handling of this very serious moral and criminal dilemma posed by the killing of Miss Deborah Samuel, is that it will encourage other miscreants to embark on this sort of crime, with impunity.
In view of the foregoing, HURIWA urged the ICC to arrest and prosecute Mr Tambuwal, expeditiously.
