Femi Falana Says El Rufai Is Liable To Prosecution Over “Body Bags” Threat

Femi Falana Says El Rufai Is Liable To Prosecution Over “Body Bags” Threat

Human rights activist, Femi Falana says Kaduna state governor, Nasir
El Rufai is liable to prosecution by the International Criminal Court
over his controversial “body bags” comment.

It will be recalled that the governor said any foreigner who interferes in Nigeria’s elections will leave in body bags.
Falana challenged the United States and the United
Kingdom, which had threatened visa ban against any politician who makes
inciting comments, to begin with El-Rufai.
 
He also called out the international community for what
he describes as hypocrisy over their silence when Shiites were murdered
in Kaduna and buried in mass graves.
 
Falana made this call in a paper he delivered at a
public lecture organised by the Committee for the Defence of Human
Rights in honour of the late Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, who passed on 13
years ago.

He said: “It is indisputable that the threat to attack and kill
foreign election observers in Nigeria constitutes an infraction of the
Electoral Act, 2010 and the Penal Code.  But because the governor,
El-Rufai, currently enjoys immunity his trial and prosecution for the
offence will have to await the end of his tenure.

“The western countries that have threatened to place travel
restrictions on members of the ruling class who incite violence or
interfere in the electoral process should not hesitate to make an
example of the governor without any further delay.

“The Special Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who has
also warned against any form of electoral violence in the country, is
urged to hold Governor El-Rufai responsible if foreign observers and
monitors are killed during the 2019 general elections.”

Speaking about the killing of Shiites, He said: “They did not speak
out when Governor El-Rufai publicly justified the massacre of 347
Shi’ites by the Nigerian Army in Zaria, Kaduna State on December 12,
2015.

“Did members of the international community protest when the governor
authorised the mass burial of the bodies of the slain Shi’ites in an
unmarked grave? Is the Special Prosecutor of the ICC not aware that the
body bags of the massacred Shi’ites were not even sent to their bereaved
family members?”

Turning his attention to the elections, Falana said it was curious
that APC is accusing PDP of hiring foreign lobbyist when the ruling
party employed the same strategy to wrest power in 2015. 

He said: “It is interesting to note that the All Progressive Congress
has accused western countries of supporting the Peoples Democratic
Party in the 2019 general elections. Did former President Jonathan not
accuse President (Barack) Obama of supporting the APC during the 2015
general elections? Have both the APC and the PDP not engaged the
services of lobby groups to convince the governments of western
countries to believe in their ability and competence to fix the problems
of Nigeria? Have both political parties not sought the endorsement of
the governments of western countries?

“Having regard to the commitment of both the APC and the PDP to
guarantee unrestrained exploitation of the nation’s resources by
imperialism it is naive to think that the governments of western
countries are going to maintain neutrality in the politics of the
country.”